Elderly persons often sign new estate documents, including trusts and trust amendments. Certainly, all persons with competence and without improper influences have the right to leave their property to whoever, and however,...more
In Gaddy v. Fenenbock (In re Est. of Fenenbock), a probate court entered an order directing the independent executor of an estate to make a partial distribution of assets from the residuary clause in the decedent’s will into...more
In In re Mason, a trial court entered a discovery order requiring a defendant, who was an executor and trustee, to produce documents and information to the plaintiffs, his children. No. 12-24-00023-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS...more
In Castaneda v. Chapa, the executrix of an estate sued regarding the decedent changing account designations and a deed to real estate. No.13-22-00537-CV2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 3376 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi May 16, 2024, no pet....more
In Gordon v. Gordon, a couple created a revocable trust and named a friend, who provided financial advice, as successor trustee. No. 03-22-00454-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 3611 (Tex. App.—Austin May 23, 2024, no pet. history)....more
8/21/2024
/ Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Estate Planning ,
Executors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Jury Trial ,
Mismanagement ,
Removal ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Successors ,
Trustees ,
Wills
In In re Estate of Maun, a brother sued his sister’s estate for her performance as executrix of their mother’s estate since the late 1980s. No. 13-22-00576-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 52 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi January 4,...more
7/17/2024
/ Breach of Duty ,
Discovery Rule ,
Estate Planning ,
Executors ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraudulent Concealment ,
Inventory ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tolling ,
Willful Misconduct
In Many v. Ridgely, a decedent’s son and daughter were beneficiaries of her estate. No. 03-21-00520-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 8189 (Tex. App.—Austin October 27, 2023, no pet. history)...more
In In re Mittelsted, a trial court held a former executor in contempt for over twenty acts of commingling personal property with estate property and ordered that the executor pay over $200,000 to avoid contempt. No....more
In In re Estate of Montemayor, a buyer sued a seller regarding five real estate contracts. No. 09-21-00054-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 1174 (Tex. App.—Beaumont May 13, 2022, no pet. history). ...more
Winstead Shareholder David F. Johnson participated in a panel presentation entitled “When One Is Not Enough: Dividing Fiduciary Powers and Dispositions” for the State Bar of Texas’s 29th Advanced Estate Planning Strategies on...more
In Bean v. Bean, a dissenting co-executor sought relief from a probate court regarding whether certain assets were separate property or community property. No. 05-21-00286-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 9058 (Tex. App.—Dallas...more
It is common for wills or trusts to provide that the fiduciary has the right to construe the document. For example, a provision may state that the fiduciary shall resolve any question regarding the construction,...more
In In re Eisenbise, the parties, a mother and son, argued about a trial court’s order requiring an executrix to produce certain documents pursuant to her duty to provide initial disclosures in a dispute concerning the...more
In Marshall v. Estate of Freeman, a trial court’s order admitting a will as a muniment of title forty-one years after the testator’s death was reversed. No. 03-20-00449-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2857 (Tex. App.—Austin April...more
In Janine v. McAfee, parties fought over who should be the administrator of an estate. No. 01-20-00717-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 10101 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] December 23, 2021, no pet. history). ...more
In In the Estate of Johnson, an applicant to be an independent administrator appealed a court’s decision to not appoint him due to his being unsuitable. No. 02-20-00133-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7138 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth...more
11/19/2021
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Estate Planning ,
Executors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fitness for Particular Purpose ,
Power of Attorney ,
Probate ,
Probate Courts ,
Residual Clause ,
Standard of Review ,
Trustees ,
Wills
In In re Estate of Stewart, siblings filed claims regarding the administration of their father’s estate. No. 04-20-00103-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 3897 (Tex. App.—San Antonio May 19, 2021, no pet. history)....more
In In the Estate of Johnson, a child of the decedent accepted over $143,000 from the decedent’s estate and then decided to challenge the will due to mental capacity and undue influence. No. 20-0424, 2021 Tex. LEXIS 426 (Tex....more
In In re Estate of Hallmark, an executrix of an estate filed suit in probate court for declarations regarding a partnership and sued the other partners. No. 11-18-00187-CV 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 7063 (Tex. App.—Eastland August...more
In In the Estate of Flarity, a son of the testator challenged the trial court’s probating of a 2004 will and the appointment of two of his siblings, named in that will, as executors. No. 09-19-00089-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS...more
In Bethany v. Bethany, a party filed a motion to remove his brother as executor of their mother’s estate. No. 03-19-00532-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 2350 (Tex. App.—Austin March 20, 2020, no pet.)....more
In Fox v. Fox, a father deeded real property in Louisiana to one of his sons. No. 14-18-00672-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 2211 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] March 17, 2020, no pet. history)....more
In Leland House v. Webb, a husband sued his deceased wife’s executor to quiet title in real estate that she obtained from her aunt. No. 06-19-00054-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 10012 (Tex. App.—Texarkana November 19, 2019, no...more
In In the Estate of Sakima, the probate court appointed a decedent’s sister as his administrator in 2011. No. 05-18-01288-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 8209 (Tex. App.—Dallas September 10, 2019, no pet. history)....more
In In re Estate of Silverman, a trial court granted a will contestant’s summary judgment and denied a handwritten document’s admission to probate as the last will of the decedent. No. 14-18-00256-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 4579...more