in Re Willa Peters Hubberd Testamentary Trust

432 S.W.3d 358, 2014 WL 547906, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 1493
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided February 12, 2014·No. 04-13-00452-CV·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by:

CATHERINE STONE, Chief Justice.

This appeal arises from disputes regarding a testamentary trust established by Willa Peters Hubberd. Willa’s daughter, *361 Mary Dahlman, is a beneficiary under the trust. Dahlman appeals the probate court’s orders modifying the terms of the testamentary trust based on a mediated settlement agreement signed by all of the parties to the underlying cause and their attorneys. 1 On appeal, Dahlman contends: (1) the probate court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order; (2) the modifications or amendments to the trust were inconsistent with the purposes of the trust; and (3) the probate court should have awarded sanctions because the petition was groundless and filed in bad faith. In addition to asserting that the probate court’s order should be affirmed, one of the appellees, A'. Chris Heinrichs, 2 requests that this court impose sanctions against Dahlman for filing a frivolous appeal.

Background

In 1986, Willa established the Peters Family Trust to which she conveyed certain mineral interests. Under the terms of Willa’s will, the remainder of her estate was devised to the Willa Peters Hubberd Testamentary Trust. 3 Frost National Bank is the current trustee of the Peters Family Trust, and Falcon International Bank is the current trustee of the Hub-berd Trust.

Dahlman and Willa’s son, Lantz Hub-berd, were named as the income beneficiaries of the Hubberd Trust. The trustee was directed to pay “the entire net income from the trust estate” to Dahlman and Lantz in equal shares and in convenient monthly or quarterly installments. The trustee also had the discretion to distribute trust principal for the health, support, education, and maintenance of Dahlman, Lantz, or their issue. When Lantz died in October of 2012, his son, Michael, became the second income beneficiary in Lantz’s stead. Upon Dahlman’s death, the Hub-berd Trust will terminate, and the principal and all undistributed income will be distributed to the four grandchildren in equal shares. 4 The Peters Family Trust distributes mineral income to the Hubberd Trust from which a depreciation allowance is deducted before that income is distributed to the income beneficiaries.

A dispute between the beneficiaries resulted in litigation regarding the depreciation allowance applicable to the mineral income distributions. 5 Falcon International Bank was also sued as trustee. During the course of the litigation, the probate judge ordered an investigation into Dahl-man’s competence, resulting in a guardianship application being filed and further litigation. This litigation included an appeal and original proceedings being filed in this court. In February of 2013, the probate court ordered the parties to mediate their disputes. At the conclusion of a two-day mediation held in May of 2013, all of *362 the parties and their attorneys signed a mediated settlement agreement.

At the request of at least one of the beneficiaries of the Hubberd Trust, the mediator filed a petition to modify the terms of the trust in accordance with the terms of the mediated settlement agreement. Falcon International Bank also filed a motion to approve the mediated settlement agreement. Dahlman filed an answer and counterclaims against the mediator, her daughters, and their attorneys. Three hearings were held on the petition. At the first and second hearings, Dahl-man’s attorney announced “not ready” and noted Dahlman’s opposition to modifying the trust. After confirming that all of the parties and their attorneys had signed the mediated settlement agreement, the probate court approved the agreement and ordered the modifications to the trust requested in the petition. Dahlman subsequently non-suited her counterclaims.

MediatoR’s Standing to File Petition

In her first issue on appeal, Dahl-man contends the probate court lacked jurisdiction to order the modifications to the trust because the mediator lacked standing to file the petition. 6 Dahlman relies on section 112.054(a) of the Texas Trust Code which authorizes a court to order that the terms of the trust be modified on the petition of a trustee or a beneficiary. Tex. Prop.Code Ann. § 112.054(a) (West 2007).

A. Waiver and Standard of Review

In its brief, Falcon International Bank raises the issue of waiver, contending Dahlman had to plead the mediator’s lack of capacity as an affirmative defense. Standing, however, is a component of subject matter jurisdiction, may be raised for the first time on appeal, and may not be waived by the parties. Tex. Ass’n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd., 852 S.W.2d 440, 443-44 (Tex.1993); Martinez v. Estrada, 392 S.W.3d 261, 263 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2012, pet. filed). Moreover, in this case, Dahlman asserted that the mediator lacked standing as a plea to the jurisdiction in her answer.

Whether a court has subject matter jurisdiction is an issue of law, which is reviewed de novo. Tex. Dept, of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217, 226 (Tex.2004); Martinez, 392 S.W.3d at 263. A party’s standing is determined at the time suit is filed. Tex. Ass’n of Bus., 852 S.W.2d at 446 n. 9; Prize Energy Res., L.P. v. Cliff Hoskins, Inc., 345 S.W.3d 537, 550 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2011, no pet.). “In determining standing, we look to the facts alleged in the petition, but may consider other evidence in the record if necessary to resolve the question of standing.” Prize Energy Res., L.P., 345 S.W.3d at 550 (citing Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547, 555 (Tex.2000)).

B. Mediator as Agent of Beneficiaries

In his petition, the mediator sought to amend and modify the provisions of the Hubberd Trust to incorporate the provisions of the mediated settlement agreement based on the following agreement of the trustee and beneficiaries:

The parties will have prepared and cooperate in filing and securing a judgment modifying the Hubberd Trust in order to reflect the agreements to the administration of the Hubberd Trust as set out herein as provided by Texas Trust Code Section 112.054.

*363

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in Re Willa Peters Hubberd Testamentary Trust, 432 S.W.3d 358, 2014 WL 547906, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 1493 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

432 S.W.3d 358 (in Re Willa Peters Hubberd Testamentary Trust) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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