Benavides v. Mathis
Texas Court of Appeals
433 S.W.3d 59 (2014)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
Carlos Y. Benavides, Jr. and Leticia Benavides (plaintiff) were a married couple living in Texas. Before their marriage, Carlos was named a beneficiary of an irrevocable family mineral trust. Pursuant to the terms of the trust, Carlos was entitled to monthly distributions of the net balance of revenue from the trust estate. The trust document defined revenue to include bonuses and royalties earned by the trust and identified revenue as trust income rather than as trust corpus. At some point after Carlos and Leticia’s marriage, Shirley Hale Mathis (defendant) was appointed temporary guardian of Carlos’s person and estate and demanded that the trustees send Carlos’s distributions to her. Leticia filed a lawsuit arguing that Carlos’s trust distributions were community property and that she was entitled to one-half of each distribution. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Mathis, and Leticia appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Marion, J.)
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