Archer v. Moody

W. L. Moody, Jr. (Junior) had a son, W. L. Moody, III (William), who in turn had three children of his own, Edna Moody, Virginia Moody, and Bill Moody. Junior created a trust to benefit his descendants. The trust was to terminate when the last of William’s children died. Article III of the trust stated that upon termination, the trust property was to be distributed in equal shares per stirpes to William’s then living grandchildren, and the surviving descendants of any deceased grandchildren. The trust terminated in 2014 with the death of Bill, William’s last surviving child. William had eight grandchildren, two from Edna’s line, two from Virginia’s line, and four from Bill’s line. A dispute arose as to the appropriate distribution of the trust property under Article III. Bill’s children (plaintiffs) argued that Article III required a per capita distribution to the grandchildren, with each grandchild taking an equal one-eighth of the trust property. Children from Edna’s and Virginia’s lines (defendants) argued that Article III required an initial division of the estate into thirds, with one-third allocated for each of William’s children. Then, each of the children’s children would take an equal share of their respective parent’s one-third. Under that scheme, each of Bill’s children would be entitled to only one-twelfth of the trust property (i.e., splitting Bill's one-third share four ways). In contrast, Edna’s two children and Virginia’s two children would each be entitled to one-sixth of the trust property (i.e., splitting Edna and Virginia’s respective one-third shares two ways). The probate court held that the trust instrument required a per capita distribution. The children from Edna’s and Virginia’s lines appealed to the Texas Court of Appeals.