Diaz v. Elkin, 434 S.W.3d 260 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2014, no pet.).
Both the trial and appellate courts agreed that
Texas courts lack jurisdiction over a personal representative who
obtained that status under the law of another nation, especially when
there is no estate property located in Texas. In this
case, estate beneficiaries claim that a co-executor appointed by the
courts of Peru breached her fiduciary duties. The
court rejected the plaintiffs’ assertion that they were suing the
co-executor in her individual capacity rather than as a fiduciary.
The court explained that the co-executor’s fiduciary duties arose
only because the plaintiffs’ relationship with her as a co-executor
rather than with her individually.
Moral: Texas courts lack jurisdiction over
a personal representative appointed by a foreign state or nation with
regard to the representative’s fiduciary duties even if the fiduciary
lives in Texas.