Who Can Contest a Texas Probate?

by Robert Ray | Last updated Nov 5, 2022 | Contesting wills, Procedure, Spouse, Who

Who Can Contest a Texas Probate

Background

In order to contest a Texas probate, you have to have standing. Standing means a person has a right to bring a lawsuit in Texas. To have standing in a Texas probate proceeding, you have to be an interested party.

Facts

In a recent case out of the Fort Worth court of appeals, the issue of standing was the central issue. 02-21-00290-CV. In this case, a man died in an accident. His common-law wife, Ms. Pachecano, had three suits; a worker’s compensation case, a wrongful death and survival action, and a probate case seeking to be appointed administrator of the husband’s estate. In the worker’s compensation case, the insurance company balked because of the alleged common-law marriage. Ms. Pachecano settled the worker’s compensation case to get the proceeds for her children. She signed papers that she was not a legal beneficiary.

When Ms. Pachecano filed the probate case to be appointed administrator of her husband’s estate, the defendant, Jackson, intervened in the probate case. Jackson claimed that because Ms. Pachecano had said in the worker’s compensation case that she was not a legal beneficiary, she couldn’t participate in his probate case—the probate court denied Jackson’s intervention. Jackson appealed. Ms. Pachecano did not challenge Jackson’s standing to be involved in the probate case until after he appealed.

Appeal

The court of appeals affirmed the trial court, stating:

Because Jackson was not an interested person, Ms. Pachecano’s argument continues that Jackson lacked standing to intervene in the heirship proceeding that she filed. We agree that the question of whether a person is interested implicates standing. As explained below, Jackson as a defendant in a wrongful-death and survival action is not an interested person in an heirship determination; thus, Jackson lacked standing to intervene. Further, Jackson’s arguments regarding why it had standing—whether an interested person or not—are unpersuasive.
Ms. Pachecano did not challenge Jackson’s standing to intervene in the probate court. That failure, however, is not a waiver of a jurisdiction-based contention, such as standing.

Problems filing in the wrong court

by Robert Ray | Last updated Dec 16, 2020 | How, How to probate a case, Spouses, Who

What happens if you miss-file your claims

When a case or claim is filed in the wrong court, you may lose your claim without being heard. If your case is dismissed after the statute of limitations has run, you are out of luck no matter how good your claim was.

Necessary Disclaimer: Do not take, or refrain from taking, any action based on what you read. You need to discuss your situation with an attorney who can advise you based on your facts.

If you have a question about a pending or anticipated lawsuit about contesting a will in Texas, use the Contact Us page at the top of the site to see if we can help.

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Filing in the wrong court

In a 2020 case, a man died and his family filed his probate case in the probate court. His wife ( a divorce was pending but was not final so she was still his wife) filed an opposition and also filed a tort suit against the other family members in the probate court asserting claims of business disparagement and intentional infliction of emotional distress. (“the tort case”). The other family members filed a motion to dismiss under the Texas Anti-SLAPP law. The probate judge granted the motion to dismiss the tort suit and ordered the wife to pay attorney’s fees to the other family members. The wife appealed. 4-19-00500-CV.

No jurisdiction

In the appeal, the appeals court ruled that the probate court did not have jurisdiction over the tort suit. Because this decision came more than two years after the claims accrued, it was too late for the wife to refile them in a court that did have jurisdiction.

The moral of this case?

If you file in the wrong court you may never get your case decided on the merits.

Can Parents, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Nieces and Nephews Inherit?

by Robert Ray | Last updated Dec 16, 2020 | Others, Who

Yes!

In Texas Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and others are heirs for the purpose of distributing the estate of the deceased if he died intestate and if the deceased had no spouse or children. Even if the deceased had a spouse but no children, the other relatives may be entitled to some of the property. The rule is, if you can’t go down the family tree, you go up then out on to the branches to determine who inherits.

If you have questions about your inheritance rights and would like to talk to an estate planning attorney or a lawyer who is familiar with inheritance and probate law to advise you about your inheritance rights, click on the “Contact Us” tab at the top.

Can Nieces and Nephews Contest a Will

by Robert Ray | Last updated Dec 16, 2020 | Others, Who

Yes, Nieces and Nephews can contest a will in Texas.

If you are an interested party, you can contest a will in Texas.

Whether the will contest will benefit you depends on several factors. If your parent, who is a sibling of the deceased, is still alive, then your parent would inherit everything if the will is set aside and nothing would go to you. That may be you ultimate goal, e.g., get mom or dad their rightful inheritance from their sibling. But, if your parent who is the sibling of the deceased, is not alive then you would inherit if the will is set aside.

Of course, all of this is dependent on the deceased not having any children. If the decedent has children, then the brothers and sisters and Nieces and Nephew will not inherit even if the will is set aside. The same is true to a lesser extent if the decedent has a spouse. The siblings or Nieces and Nephews would still inherit if the will is set aside but so would the wife.

If you have a question about a pending or anticipated lawsuit about contesting a will in Texas, use the Contact Us page at the top of the site to see if we can help.

Find Out Who is an Interested Party for Probate Purposes?

by Robert Ray | Last updated Nov 5, 2022 | Contesting wills, Glossary, Heirship, How to probate a case, Probate, Procedure, Who

The Texas Probate Code defines “interested persons,” in relevant part, to be: children, heirs, devisees, spouses, creditors, or any others having a property right in, or claim against, the estate being administered . . .” In order to contest a will, you must be an “interested party.”

The interest referred to must be a pecuniary one, held by the party either as an individual or in a representative capacity, which will be affected by the probate or defeat of the will. That means you must have a financial interest. An interest resting on sentiment or sympathy, or any other basis other than gain or loss of money or its equivalent, is insufficient. For instance, if you are a neighbor and you see that an undeserving child seems to be ending up with all of the property of their parents or grandparents, there’s nothing that you can do because your interest is not pecuniary. It is just altruistic. The only thing that you can do is to notify an interested party of your concerns. If they are not interested in contesting the will, there’s nothing else for you to do.

By Robert Ray a Texas inheritance attorney. The foregoing information is general in nature and does not apply to every fact situation. If you are concerned about Texas inheritance laws, inheritance rights, probate limits, have a family inheritance dispute, a property dispute or want to know the reasons for contesting a will or protecting a will from a contest and need an inheritance lawyer, we can help. Please click on the “Contact Us” tab above and use the contact form to contact us today. We are Texas inheritance lawyers and would love to learn about your case. There is no fee for the initial consultation.

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Find Out Who Can Contest a Will in Texas?

by Robert Ray | Last updated Apr 2, 2020 | Who

Any person interested in an estate may contest a will. The Probate Code defines “interested persons,” in relevant part, to be: children, heirs, devisees, spouses, creditors, or any others having a property right in, or claim against, the estate being administered . . .” The interest referred to must be a pecuniary one, held by the party either as an individual or in a representative capacity, which will be affected by the probate or defeat of the will. That means you must have a financial interest to contest a will. An interest resting on sentiment or sympathy, or any other basis other than gain or loss of money or its equivalent, is insufficient. For instance, a person leaves all his property to a girlfriend and not his children. A friend or neighbor cannot contest the will even if he/she believes that the children should have received the property because the friend or neighbor will not benefit financially whether the will is admitted or denied probate. Of course the children can contest the will because they would financially benefit if the will is not admitted to probate but the friend or neighbor cannot contest it.

If a person accepts benefits under the will, he may be estopped from contesting the will. To avoid estoppel, the person may have to return the benefits that he received under the will in order to contest it. In certain situations, the return of benefits may not be required. For more information on contesting a will after you have received benefits click here.

In a recent case, the issue of “interested person” was at issue. In that case, two wills were offered for probate. The daughter of the deceased offered a 2002 will for probate. The executrix of a 2005 will offered it for probate. She also contested the 2002 will offered by the daughter. The executrix named in the 2005 will was not an heir and she did not benefit from he 2005 or 2002 will.

The court first found that the 2005 will was not executed with the proper formalities and could not be admitted to probate. The judge then ruled that the executrix of the 2005 will was not an “interested party” of the 2002 will and could not contest it. The court then admitted the 2002 will to probate.

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