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The Texas Constructive Trust And Its Peculiar Requirements, David Dittfurth

Faculty Articles

Consider two cases. In the first case, you represent the children of a woman who was intentionally and wrongfully killed by her husband. After having pled guilty to negligent homicide, the husband probates his wife's will in which he is the sole beneficiary. In the second case, your client attempts an online transfer of her savings to another of her accounts but enters the account number erroneously and sends her life's savings to a stranger's account. The recipient of this windfall has withdrawn the money in cashier's checks and refuses to return them to her.

Your clients want a court …

The Scope Of Texas Probate Jurisdiction Over Matters Incident And Appertaining To An Estate., Paula C. Tredeau

St. Mary's Law Journal

Providing for probate court jurisdiction to accommodate all types of probate issues would lead to a more efficient probate system in terms of cost, time, and judicial economy. However, the constitutional and statutory constraints establish serious limits on probate jurisdiction. The 1973 legislature adopted a major revision to section 5 of the Probate Code to simplify and clarify probate jurisdiction by reorganizing the probate court system. In the four subsequent revisions to section 5 of the Probate Code, the issue of whether to distinguish the phrases “appertaining to an estate” and “incident to an estate” arose. These subsequent amendments continued …