Hartmann v. Solbrig, 12 S.W.3d 587 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2000, pet. denied).
In a highly complex case which involved, among other things, an
unnecessary sale by a guardian of specifically devised property and the
testamentary creation of a right of first refusal to purchase specified
estate property, the trial court awarded attorney fees and expenses to
the independent executor. The appellate court upheld the award on a
variety of grounds including (1) properly requested in a declaratory
judgment action under Chapter 37 of the Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, (2) authorized under Probate Code § 242, and (3) permitted under
Probate Code § 149C. The court rejected arguments that the expenses were
incurred in a personal capacity, in bad faith, or out of negligence,
malfeasance, or self-dealing.
Moral: To defeat an award of attorney fees, an opponent must present
evidence that the fees are excessive, unnecessary, incurred purely to
benefit the executor individually, in bad faith, or out of negligence,
malfeasance, or self-dealing.