Lee v. Lee, 43 S.W.3d 636 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2001, no pet.).
Depositor opened certificates of deposit in trust account form in
favor of Nieces and Nephew. Depositor died intestate. Depositor’s Wife
notified Bank that Depositor opened the CDs with community property
without her consent and knowledge. Nonetheless, Bank permitted Nieces
and Nephew to redeem the CDs. Later, Nieces and Nephew through their
attorney agreed to an inventory of Depositor’s estate which listed the
CDs as community property. When Wife discovered that Nieces and Nephews
had closed the accounts, she sued to recover the funds asserting that
Nieces and Nephews had judicially admitted that the CDs were community
property when they agreed to the inventory listing them as such. The
trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Wife.
The appellate court affirmed. Attorney for Nieces and Nephews did not
challenge the inventory designating the CDs as community property nor
did Attorney ask for a reconsideration. Attorney had judicially admitted
that the CDs were community property. Accordingly, Nieces and Nephew may
not claim that Depositor gave them the CDs and that they are not part of
the community estate.
Moral: Do not consent to or approve an inventory which designates a
decedent’s property in a manner contrary to the client’s best interests.