In re Estate of Hudson, 2011 WL 5433689 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2011, no pet.).
Son filed a general denial when Mother applied to probate Father’s will. The appellate court held that this was sufficient as a contest under Probate Code § 10 and thus Son was entitled to be heard during the probate of the will and that his request for a jury trial should be honored under Probate Code § 21. The court noted that § 10 does not require that a will contestant identify with specificity the grounds on which the contestant is opposing the will.
Moral: A general denial of a will proponent’s application to probate a will qualifies as a contest of the will.