In Mittelsted v. Meriwether, the decedent changed his will and beneficiary designations on bank accounts to leave everything to his half-brother. No. 14-21-00755-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 1020 (Tex. App.—Houston February 16, 2023, no pet. history). The decedent’s sisters challenged these transactions for mental incompetence, and the jury found for the sisters. The half-brother

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. 14-22-00274-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 1014 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] February 16, 2023, original proceeding). The executor filed

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). The seller’s executor alleged that the contracts were not enforceable because the seller did not have mental capacity to execute them. The jury

In  In re Estate of Allen, a trial court appointed a successor independent administrator, the decedent’s son, and the decedent’s wife appealed the decision. No. 08-21-00184-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 8841 (Tex. App.—El Paso December 2, 2022, no pet. history). The court first discussed the distinction between a dependent and independent administration:

The

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 December 13, 2022, no pet. history). Alan Lavern Bean was an astronaut during Apollo-era space programs. He owned 39 artifacts from his experience

In In re McIntire, trust beneficiaries sued a trustee for multiple allegations of breach of fiduciary duty. No. 07-22-00249-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 60 (Tex. App.—Amarillo January 5, 2023, original proceeding). The trust beneficiaries filed a motion for partial summary judgment, which the trial court denied. The trust beneficiaries also sought an order requiring

In In re John O. Yates Trust, a trustee of a trust filed suit to obtain declarations on whether it could sell certain real estate held in the trust, and if so, whether the proceeds should be designated as principal. No. 04-21-00365-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 9470 (Tex. App.—San Antonio December 28, 2022, no

In In re McGowan, a dispute arose regarding whether certain interests in real property were funded into a trust or whether the decedent still had those interests at the time of his death such that they were in his estate. No. 03-22-00726-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 168 (Tex. App.—Austin January 11, 2023, original proceeding). The parties claiming that the interests were in a trust, the Sisters, filed claims in the probate case. Later suit was filed in district court regarding the same issues. The Sisters then filed a motion transfer the claims from the probate court to the district court and consolidate them. The trustee/executor filed a motion to abate in the district court due to the previously pending claims in probate court. The district court granted the motion to consolidate and denied the motion to abate. The trustee/executor filed a petition for writ of mandamus with the court of appeals challenging the denial of the motion to abate.Continue Reading Court Granted Mandamus Relief To Order District Court To Abate Trust Dispute Due To Earlier Filed Suit In Probate Court