Who Has the Burden of Proof When Contesting a Will?
In Texas the burden of proof depends on when the will contest is filed. If the will is contested before it is admitted to probate, the burden of proof is on the person who is offering the will for probate. If the will is contested after the will is admitted to probate, the burden of [...]
A Starting Point for a Will Contest is an Unnatural Disposition.
When a person is deciding whether or not to contest a will, one of the first things to look for is an unnatural disposition of the property. An unnatural disposition is one where a beneficiary of the will is not someone who most people would think of as a natural object of the testator‘s bounty. [...]
Does the phrase “is presently making payments to me” limit a gift of a mineral interest?
A testator’s will stated “I give all of my interest in the Crockett County, Texas, mineral interest that Occidental Permian Ltd. is presently making payments to me…” to my wife. After the testator died, additional wells were drilled on the land. Children from a prior marriage claimed that the gift to the wife was limited [...]
In a will contest, can you recover your attorney’s fees if they were reasonable and necessary?
The probate code provides that if you offer a will for probate in good faith and with just cause, you can recover your reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees even if you lose. In a recent will contest, the proponent offered a 2003 will for probate. The contestants contested the 2003 will and offered an older [...]
Can a testator be unduly influenced when they are incompetent?
An appeals court recently had to decide if a jury’s verdict that the testator lacked testamentary capacity and their verdict that the testator was unduly influenced was so conflicting that the verdict had to be set aside. If a jury verdict has an irreconcilable conflict, the court is obligated to reverse the case. In general, [...]
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