News & Analysis as of

Burden of Proof Beneficiaries

Winstead PC

Court Reversed Order Setting Aside The Probating Of A Will Where The Evidence Was Insufficient To Support The Order

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In In re Estate of Johnson, an administrator and a third party appealed the trial court’s judgment setting aside the probate of the decedent’s will, removing the administrator, and voiding the sale of an estate asset to the...more

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Courts Have Ordered Trial Courts To Grant TCPA Motions To Dismiss Based On No-Contest Clause Claims

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The Texas Legislature created a statute to protect parties’ rights to freedom of speech and to petition the courts: the Texas Citizen’s Participation Act (TCPA). See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 27.001-.011....more

Winstead PC

Court Discusses Holding An Executor In Contempt For Commingling Property

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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

Downey Brand LLP

Should “Dutiful Children” and “Dutiful Spouses” Be Exempt from the Undue Influence Presumption?

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California trust and estate disputes often feature claims by one sibling that another gained a larger share by unduly influencing a parent. When there are factors suggesting undue influence, who should bear the burden of...more

Downey Brand LLP

Showdown at the O.K. Corral – The Battle of the Omitted Heirs

Downey Brand LLP on

Providing for your children is one of the primary purposes of estate planning, but what happens to your carefully crafted trust if you had children you did not know about when you created the trust? Or, what if you have...more

Winstead PC

Court Reverses Summary Judgment On The Issue Of Whether A Testatrix Had The Mental Capacity To Execute A New Will

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In In the Estate of Mahaffey, a testatrix executed a new will nine days before she died of cancer. No. 04-19-00122-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 11171 (Tex. App.—San Antonio December 27, 2019, no pet. history)....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Waiving a Decendent’s Attorney-Client Privilege

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“The attorney client privilege, the oldest among common-law evidentiary privileges, fosters the open dialogue between lawyer and client that is deemed essential to effective representation” (Spectrum Sys. Intern. Corp. v...more

Carlton Fields

Intentional Killing a Grave Mistake Under Slayer Statutes

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Recent decisions provide worthwhile guidance for insurers handling slayer claims. According to traditional inheritance law, a “slayer” is one who intentionally kills, or conspires to kill, feloniously or unjustifiably,...more

Winstead PC

Texas Statutes Now Allow A Court To Modify Or Reform An Unambiguous Will

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I. Introduction Historically, Texas courts could not resort to extrinsic evidence to construe an unambiguous will. San Antonio Area Foundation v. Lang, 35 S.W.3d 636 (Tex. 2000)....more

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