Woods v. Kenner, 501 S.W.3d 185 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, no pet.).
After Decedent’s death, his two children were
declared to be his sole heirs. Thereafter, they sold certain property to
Purchaser. Later, a copy of Decedent’s will was located which devised
his property to his two children and his two step-children. The
court admitted the will to probate as a muniment of title accepting the
explanation that the original could not be found because it was
destroyed by Hurricane Ike. The court also granted a bill of review
setting aside the previous heirship determination.
The appellate court affirmed. First, the court
determined that the probate court’s granting of the bill of review was
proper rejecting a claim that a petition for a bill of review must make
a prima facie showing of a meritorious claim or defense. Instead, all
that is necessary is to show substantial error in the prior decision
which was the case here because the original order stated that Decedent
died intestate which was not the true.
Second, the court determined there was sufficient
evidence to support the probate court’s determination that Decedent did
not revoke his will and instead that the original was destroyed by the
massive flooding of his house which the hurricane caused.
Interestingly, the case does not address
Purchaser’s unfortunate situation even though Purchaser was the
unsuccessful appellant. Is Purchaser a bona fide purchaser from what at
the time of the sale were the legal title holders to the property? If
not, would title insurance cover Purchaser’s loss of 50% of the
property? Will title insurance companies now refuse to insure sales from
heirs at least until the time to file a bill of review has run fearing
that a later will may be found?
Moral: Heirs should conduct a thorough
search for a decedent’s will. Of course, they may lack the motivation to
do so because the will could disinherit them partially, as in this case,
or totally.