In Suday v. Suday, a trial court denied an executrix’s challenge to its jurisdiction with regard to her mother’s estate. No. 04-23-00836-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 6953 (Tex. App.—San Antonio September 25, 2024, pet. filed). The executrix filed an appeal, and the court of appeals dismissed the appeal. The court
jurisdiction
Court Dismissed An Appeal From A Probate Court Order Due To A Lack Of Jurisdiction
In In re Estate of Carr, the court of appeals dismissed an appeal from a probate court order due to a lack of jurisdiction. No. 04-23-00287-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 7827 (Tex. App.—San Antonio November 6, 2024, no pet. history). The order: (1) appoints a temporary dependent administrator pending…
Court Holds That Party Waived Appeal By Not Timely Appealing An Order Admitting A Will To Probate
Court Had Jurisdiction To Determine Claims Involving Non-Probate Assets
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. history). The trial court ruled for the executrix, and the other parties appealed asserting…
Court Affirmed A Judgment For An Estate Because The Personal Represented Participated In The Case
Court Granted Motion To Abate A Suit To Remove A Trustee In District Court Because A First Filed Suit In A County Court At Law Had Primary Jurisdiction
In In re Kelly, a former executor and the trustee of a testamentary trust initiated a probate proceeding in a county court at law. No. 11-24-00066-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 3735 (Tex. App.—Eastland May 30, 2024, original proc.). An opposing party filed claims against him in the probate proceeding…

Recorded Webinar: Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow ꟷ Issues Arising From Trust Termination and Trustee Succession In Texas
David Johnson, lead writer for The Fiduciary Litigator blog, discusses the main legal issues that arise when trusts terminate or there is a successor trustee, such as trustee resignation, trustee removal, who can be a successor trustee, co-trustee resignation issues, successor trustee duty to police, prior trustee duty to report…
Court Holds That An Order Was Not Final For Appeal Where There Was Still An Issue Of Intestancy Remaining To Be Determined
In Estate of Long, the plaintiff sued trustees and alleged that she was the only child of the decedent and asserted a cause of action for a will contest and for a declaratory judgment action in which she requested the trial court to declare that the residuary clause of…

Presentation: Trust Issues in Divorce Proceedings
David F. Johnson presented to the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association on May 4, 2023, on the topic of “Trust Issues in Divorce Proceedings.” This program discussed some of the many trust issues that arise in divorce proceedings, including trust basics, voiding trusts due to fraud/constructive fraud/breach of fiduciary…
Court Holds That Probate Court Had Jurisdiction Over Inter Vivos Trust Dispute And That A Beneficiary Waived A Complaint About A “No Liability” Order For A Trustee
In Goepp v. Comerica Bank & Trust, N.A., the settlors created inter vivos trusts and their three children were the remainder beneficiaries. No. 03-19-00485-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5461 (Tex. App.—Austin July 9, 2021, no pet. history). The three children became co-trustees and then had disputes. They entered into a family settlement agreement, and had a corporate trustee appointed successor trustee. The corporate trustee then filed a “First Amended Petition for Settlement of Trustee’s Final Account and Order of No Liability.” Id. One of the children objected “to the Trustee’s Petition, complaining about the timing of certain preferential distribution payments, about the calculations of interest on the distributions, and that he ‘has yet to be reimbursed the monies owed to him for out of pocket expenses of durable medical equipment purchased on behalf of Iraida.’” Id. After the trial court entered the relief requested by the corporate trustee, several of the children appealed.