Estate of Arrington,
Court of Appeals, First District,
Houston, 2012

In this case Mr. Arrington signed his will two days after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, giving all of this estate to his daughter to the exclusion of his then wife, and his other children. When he died, his daughter filed the will and was appointed executrix. His widow challenged the will but the court held that all of the evidence showed that he was competent when he signed the will.

The court held that the will signing ceremony by Mr. Arrington and the witnesses and the notary was sufficient to uphold the will. The main point of this case is that the signing of the will needs to done exactly the way the probate code provides.

Beevers vs. Lampkins,
Court of Appeals of Texas, Seventh District,
Amarillo, 2012

In the case Mr. Parshall's wife had died and he had no children, but had many siblings. Even though he had suffered from dementia for years, a will was signed in his nursing home naming as the executrix, the nursing home's office manager. The will gave her some property including a house, that he had actually deeded away several years before the will. More than five years after his death, the office manager filed the will for probate and did not tell the court that he actually had brothers and sisters, but told the court she was his only heir.

The court found out about the brothers and sisters and held that the office manager was unfit to be executor. The obvious lesson of this case is that one can never fail to fully disclose to a court necessary facts, whether concerning family history or other matters.