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Tex. Est. Code § 352.052

ALLOWANCE FOR DEFENSE OR SUCCESSFUL CONTEST OF WILL

Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case in the Matter of the Estate of Vernon Lee Downing (2015)

Most recently applied in in the Estate of Robert L. Wright (December 2015)

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 680 (H.B. 2502), Sec. 1, eff

(a) A person designated as executor in a will or an alleged will, or as administrator with the will or alleged will annexed, who, for the purpose of having the will or alleged will admitted to probate, defends the will or alleged will or prosecutes any proceeding in good faith and with just cause, whether or not successful, shall be allowed out of the estate the executor's or administrator's necessary expenses and disbursements in those proceedings, including reasonable attorney's fees.

(b) A person designated as a devisee in or beneficiary of a will or an alleged will who, for the purpose of having the will or alleged will admitted to probate, defends the will or alleged will or prosecutes any proceeding in good faith and with just cause, whether or not successful, may be allowed out of the estate the person's necessary expenses and disbursements in those proceedings, including reasonable attorney's fees.

(c) In this subsection, "interested person" does not include a creditor or any other having a claim against the estate. An interested person who, in good faith and with just cause, successfully prosecutes a proceeding to contest the validity of a will or alleged will offered for or admitted to probate may be allowed out of the estate the person's necessary expenses and disbursements in that proceeding, including reasonable attorney's fees.

Official source: Texas Constitution and Statutes. Reproduced from public-domain Texas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.