Wills

Will Contests Generally

Proper Briefing

 Proctor v. White, 155 S.W.3d 438 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2004, pet. denied).

 

Shortly after Proponents filed Testator’s will for probate, Contestants asserted that Testator lacked testamentary capacity and was subject to undue influence. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s grant of a summary judgment in favor of Proponents. Contestants, many of whom were Testator’s children upset that Testator had left property to his wife, their step-mother, did not adequately brief the issue on appeal. Instead of referring to relevant cases or legal principles, they simply included pages of references to depositions and documents filed in the clerk’s record. The court concluded that Contestants waived their claim that the summary judgment was improper because it was not adequately briefed.

Moral: To overturn a trial court’s grant of summary judgment, the appealing party should brief the issue thoroughly and include references to the applicable cases and legal principles.



Back