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In re Estate of Craigen

In a single issue on appeal, the testator's adult children contend the testator intended to leave a life estate to his wife, and they argue that the remainder of the estate passed to them through the laws of descent and distribution. The will at issue is ambiguous but under the appropriate rules of will construction, the trial court properly construed the will so that the dominant gift goes to testator's wife. Beaumont Court of Appeals, No. 09-09-00285-CV, 01-21-2010

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OPINION

We are asked to determine whether the trial court properly interpreted the dispository language in a holographic will. If the will is ambiguous, the applicable rules of will construction yield one result. If the will is unambiguous, the trial court was required to give effect to the express language of the will, and arguably should have reached a different result. The trial court, in construing the testator’s intentions under the will, found “[t]hat it was the intent of the [t]estator to leave his entire estate to his surviving wife in full.” The trial court further found “[t]hat there was no intention to leave a life estate to her.” In a single issue on appeal, the testator’s adult children contend the testator intended to leave a life estate to his wife, and they argue that the remainder of the estate passed to them through the laws of descent and distribution. We find the will is ambiguous and hold that under the appropriate rules of will construction, the trial court properly construed the will. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

The Will

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