Lee v. Lee, 528 S.W.3d 201 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, pet. denied).

Trusts

Jurisdiction

 

Beneficiaries sued in a statutory probate court to remove Trustee. Trustee claims that the court lacked jurisdiction and that suit should have been brought in district court under Trust Code § 115.001. Trustee admitted that the statutory probate court has concurrent jurisdiction over testamentary trusts but asserted that this jurisdiction is restricted to when a probate proceeding is actually pending in the statutory probate court.

 

The appellate disagreed with Trustee. The court determined that the jurisdiction of statutory probate courts is independent of its probate jurisdiction. “[T]he absence of a pending probate proceeding does not deprive a statutory probate court of its independent jurisdiction over testamentary-trust actions.” Lee at 213. The court also recognized that the statutory probate court also has jurisdiction over inter vivos trusts as provided in Estates Code § 32.006.

 

Moral:  A statutory probate court has concurrent jurisdiction with the district court over both inter vivos and testamentary trusts irrespective of whether any probate matter regarding the trust is pending in the statutory probate court.

 



Back