In LaPree v. LaPree, a wife had three trusts where she was the primary beneficiary. No. 03-20-00465-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 1325 (Tex. App.—Austin February 24, 2022, no pet. history). Upon attaining the age of thirty two, the trusts terminated
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Court Affirmed Admission Of Will To Probate Over Challenges To Testimony Based On Lack Of Medical Training By A Non-Medical Witness And From An Anesthesiologist
In In re Estate of Aldrete, a decedent’s son from a first marriage had a 1981 will admitted to probate, which left real property to him. No. 04-20-00426-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 322 (Tex. App.—San Antonio January 19, 2022, no…
Federal Court Denies Defendant Banks’ Motion For Summary Judgment On Plaintiffs’ Knowing Participation In Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claim In Stanford Ponzi Scheme Case
In Rotstain v. Trustmark Nat’l Bank, plaintiffs sued banks for assisting Stanford and his entities regarding a Ponzi scheme. No. 3:09-CV-2384-N, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10332 (N.D. Tex. January 20, 2022). Stanford and the entities under his control sold fraudulent…
Appellate Court Held That It Did Not Have Jurisdiction Over A Probate Court’s Order Denying A Motion For Summary Judgment And Motion To Vacate Appointment Of A Successor Administrator
In Janine v. McAfee, parties fought over who should be the administrator of an estate. No. 01-20-00717-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 10101 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] December 23, 2021, no pet. history). A man and woman divorced in 1983 and…
Court Affirmed Order Granting Injunction To Allow Successor Trustees To Manage A Business Owned By A Trust
In Clark v. Clark, two brothers sued a third brother regarding the third brother’s ability to be trustee of a trust due to a traumatic brain injury. No. 14-19-00604-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 9866 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] December 14,…
Texas Court Rejects Trustee’s Objection To Personal Jurisdiction
In MBM Family Trust No. 1 v. GE Oil & Gas, LLC, a plaintiff filed suit against a defendant and his companies to domesticate a foreign judgment. No. 05-20-01103-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7698 (Tex. App.—Dallas September 17, 2021, no…
David Fowler Johnson Receives JD Supra’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Award for Top Author in Wealth Management

FORT WORTH, TX – Winstead PC, a leading national law firm, today announced that David Fowler Johnson, Managing Shareholder of the firm’s Fort Worth office and the lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, was awarded the …
Court Holds That Trust Was Not Ambiguous And Provided The Trustee Discretion In Making Income Distributions
In Wells Fargo, N.A. v. Clower, a trustee filed suit for declaratory relief regarding its discretion to make income distributions. No. 02-20-00058-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7675 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth September 16, 2021, no pet.). The beneficiaries filed counterclaims for…
FSIG Webinar – Litigating Self-Interested Transactions By Trustees

Shareholder David F. Johnson will address the various issues that arise when a trustee enters into a self-interested transaction with the trust. Among other issues, it will address the duty of loyalty, the presumption of unfairness, trustee compensation, non-compensation benefits,…
Court Reversed Summary Judgment Against Trustee Where Beneficiary’s Affidavit Evidence Was Conclusory
In McEndree v. Volke, a beneficiary sued a trustee, her former step father, for breaching fiduciary duties. No. 11-19-00351-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7856 (Tex. App.—Eastland September 23, 2021, no pet. history). The trust was to hold Social Security Administration…