Texas Estates Code 123.001 – Will Provisions Made Before Dissolution of Marriage
(a) In this section:
(1) “Irrevocable trust” means a trust:
(A) for which the trust instrument was executed before the dissolution of a testator‘s marriage; and
(B) that the testator was not solely empowered by law or by the trust instrument to revoke.
(2) “Relative” means an individual related to another individual by:
(A) consanguinity, as determined under Section 573.022, Government Code; or
(B) affinity, as determined under Section 573.024, Government Code.
(b) If, after the testator makes a will, the testator’s marriage is dissolved by divorce, annulment, or a declaration that the marriage is void, unless the will expressly provides otherwise:
(1) all provisions in the will, including all fiduciary appointments, shall be read as if the former spouse and each relative of the former spouse who is not a relative of the testator had failed to survive the testator; and
(2) all provisions in the will disposing of property to an irrevocable trust in which a former spouse or a relative of a former spouse who is not a relative of the testator is a beneficiary or is nominated to serve as trustee or in another fiduciary capacity or that confers a general or special power of appointment on a former spouse or a relative of a former spouse who is not a relative of the testator shall be read to instead dispose of the property to a trust the provisions of which are identical to the irrevocable trust, except any provision in the irrevocable trust:
(A) conferring a beneficial interest or a general or special power of appointment to the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse who is not a relative of the testator shall be treated as if the former spouse and each relative of the former spouse who is not a relative of the testator had disclaimed the interest granted in the provision; and
(B) nominating the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse who is not a relative of the testator to serve as trustee or in another fiduciary capacity shall be treated as if the former spouse and each relative of the former spouse who is not a relative of the testator had died immediately before the dissolution of the marriage.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 123.001
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Court: means and includes:
(1) a county court in the exercise of its probate jurisdiction;
(2) a court created by statute and authorized to exercise original probate jurisdiction; and
(3) a district court exercising original probate jurisdiction in a contested matter. See Texas Estates Code 22.007 - Estate: means a decedent's property, as that property:
(1) exists originally and as the property changes in form by sale, reinvestment, or otherwise;
(2) is augmented by any accretions and other additions to the property, including any property to be distributed to the decedent's representative by the trustee of a trust that terminates on the decedent's death, and substitutions for the property; and
(3) is diminished by any decreases in or distributions from the property. See Texas Estates Code 22.012 - Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(c) Subsection (b)(2) does not apply if one of the following provides otherwise:
(1) a court order; or
(2) an express provision of a contract relating to the division of the marital estate entered into between the testator and the testator’s former spouse before, during, or after the marriage.