Texas Estates Code 751.251 – Judicial Relief
(a) The following may bring an action requesting a court to construe, or determine the validity or enforceability of, a durable power of attorney, or to review an agent’s conduct under a durable power of attorney and grant appropriate relief:
(1) the principal or the agent;
(2) a guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary acting for the principal;
(3) a person named as a beneficiary to receive property, a benefit, or a contractual right on the principal’s death;
(4) a governmental agency with authority to provide protective services to the principal; and
(5) a person who demonstrates to the court sufficient interest in the principal’s welfare or estate.
(b) A person who is asked to accept a durable power of attorney may bring an action requesting a court to construe, or determine the validity or enforceability of, the power of attorney.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 751.251
- 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
- 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 - Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- 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.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
- Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) On the principal’s motion, the court shall dismiss an action under Subsection (a) unless the court finds that the principal lacks capacity to revoke the agent’s authority or the durable power of attorney.
(d) In an action brought under this section, the court may award costs and reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees in an amount the court considers equitable and just.