Claveria v. Claveria

615 S.W.2d 164 (1981)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Claveria v. Claveria

Texas Supreme Court
615 S.W.2d 164 (1981)

  • Written by Whitney Kamerzel , JD

Facts

Patricio Claveria (plaintiff) and Otha Faye McQuaid Claveria (defendant) participated in a ceremonial marriage. Otha subsequently died and left her property to her two children from a former marriage. Patricio challenged the distribution and claimed an interest in the property due to his ceremonial marriage to Otha. The probate court held that Patricio had no interest in Otha’s property because the ceremonial marriage to Otha was void due to a common-law marriage between Patricio and another woman, Carolina Mendoza Claveria, which was never dissolved. The probate court heard evidence that although Patricio and Carolina had never been ceremonially married, they lived together as husband and wife. Before Patricio’s marriage to Otha, Patricio testified in a workers’ compensation case that he had been married to Carolina for 16 years. Similarly, Patricio and Carolina signed home-ownership documents as a married couple. Patricio and Carolina never took action to dissolve this purported marriage. Despite this evidence, the court of civil appeals reversed, holding that there was no evidence of a former common-law marriage. Otha’s estate appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Pope, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership