Wills and Estates Flashcards
7 cards from real TX BAR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Wills and Estates flashcards as text
Under Texas law, a court may appoint a guardian for an adult when:
Answer: The person lacks sufficient capacity to manage their personal affairs or property due to a mental or physical condition
Texas requires proof that the proposed ward is an incapacitated person lacking sufficient capacity to care for themselves or manage their property before a guardian may be appointed.
A spendthrift provision in a trust primarily serves to:
Answer: Restrict the beneficiary from assigning future payments and protect them from creditors reaching the trust interest
A spendthrift clause prohibits both voluntary assignment by the beneficiary and involuntary attachment by creditors, protecting the trust interest until distributed.
To be effective under Texas law and the federal tax code, a disclaimer of an inherited interest must generally be filed within:
Answer: Nine months of the decedent's death or nine months after the disclaimant turns 21
Both Texas Estates Code §240.009 and IRC §2518 require a qualified disclaimer to be filed within nine months of the transfer (or nine months after the disclaimant turns 21).
Texas does not have a surviving spouse elective share statute primarily because:
Answer: Texas is a community property state and the surviving spouse already owns one-half of community property
Because each spouse already owns an undivided one-half interest in community property during the marriage, Texas deems an elective share statute unnecessary.
A court will impose a constructive trust most appropriately when:
Answer: A person wrongfully obtains property through fraud, undue influence, or breach of fiduciary duty
A constructive trust is an equitable remedy imposed to prevent unjust enrichment when property is obtained through wrongdoing such as fraud or breach of fiduciary duty.
Under Texas Estates Code §255.153, the anti-lapse statute substitutes the predeceased beneficiary's descendants when the predeceased beneficiary was:
Answer: A descendant of the testator's parents (i.e., a sibling, niece, nephew, or the testator's own descendant)
Texas's anti-lapse statute applies only when the predeceased beneficiary is a descendant of the testator or of the testator's parents, limiting its scope to close family members.
A testator who suffers from an insane delusion may lack testamentary capacity only if:
Answer: The insane delusion actually influenced the testamentary disposition
An insane delusion invalidates a will only when there is a causal connection between the delusion and the testamentary act — the delusion must have affected what the testator did in the will.