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In re Estate of Bendtsen, 230 S.W.3d 832 (Tex. App.—Dallas, 2007, no pet. h.).

Estate Administration

Interested Person

Executrix of an invalid later will attempted to contest an earlier will and various actions by the court-appointed temporary administrator of the estate.  Both the trial and appellate courts agreed that Executrix lacked standing.  She was not an “interested person” under Probate Code § 3(r) because she was not an heir, devisee, spouse, or creditor of the decedent and she did not have a property right in, or claim against, the decedent’s estate.  She also lacked a pecuniary interest in the estate as required by Logan v. Thomason, 202 S.W.2d 212 (Tex. 1947).

Moral:  A person must have an interest in the estate to contest a will or the actions of a personal representative.

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