Phillips v. Phillips

511 S.W.2d 748, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2503
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 3, 1974
Docket15313, 15314
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 511 S.W.2d 748 (Phillips v. Phillips) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Phillips v. Phillips, 511 S.W.2d 748, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2503 (Tex. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

KLINGEMAN, Justice.

This is an appeal from two orders of the Probate Court of Kimble County in Cause Nos. 1120 and 1121, denying the application of Jo Ann Phillips to be appointed guardian of the estates of her two minor children, Rodney Kent Phillips and Dana Denise Phillips, and approving the application of W. Lester Phillips, the grandfather of such minor children, to be appointed guardian of the respective estates. After the application of W. Lester Phillips was filed, Jo Ann filed a contest to such appointment and requested that she be appointed guardian of such children. The two cases were consolidated and are consolidated for the purpose of this appeal.

Appellant’s husband, Robert H. Phillips died intestate on February 12, 1973, leaving surviving him a wife, Jo Ann, and two children, Rodney Kent and Dana Denise. Appellant was appointed administratrix of her husband’s estate on the 13th day of March, 1973, in the Probate Court of Kim-ble County, Texas. An inventory and ap-praisement was filed by such administra-trix in May, 1973, in which she lists, as separate property of the decedent, an undivided one-half interest in a tract of 5,790.-03 acres in Sutton, Real and Edwards Counties, Texas, and certain personal property. The 5,790.03 acre tract was conveyed to Robert H. Phillips and his brother, William T. B. Phillips, by two deeds of gifts from their father and mother, William Lester Phillips and Mary Irene Phillips. This inventory was duly sworn to by Jo Ann Phillips and was approved by the Probate Court. Thereafter, appellant filed an amended inventory in which she recites that there is no separate property of the decedent and lists the ranch and all other property as a part of the community property of the decedent. This inventory is also sworn to by the said Jo Ann Phillips.

Appellant asserts two points of error: (1) the court erred in its amended order appointing appellee as guardian by finding that all real property contained in the original inventory filed by appellant, with the exception of the homestead, was conclusively separate property since such finding is beyond the power of the court; (2) the court erred in rendering a decision on the qualifications of appellant to serve as guardian without having allowed appellant to present all competent evidence.

Appellant correctly asserts that the surviving parent is first entitled to be appointed guardian of the estate of any minor children. Section 109(a), Texas Probate Code, V.A.T.S. (1956). Appellant concedes, however, that a guardian should be disqualified pursuant to Section 110, Texas Probate Code, if such applicant for guardian asserts a claim adverse to that of the wards. Section 110(e) expressly provides that any person asserting any claim to any property, real or personal, adverse to the persons for whom, or for whose estate the appointment is sought shall be disqualified to serve as guardian. 1

*750 As hereinbefore noted, appellant, as administratrix of the estate of her deceased husband, Robert Phillips, first filed an inventory and appraisement in such estate listing the interest of the decedent in the 5,790.03 acres as his separate property and also listed certain personal property as separate property, and thereafter filed an amended inventory in said estate asserting that the decedent owned no separate property. There was also other evidence heard at the trial that appellee was asserting claims adverse to the minors. She testified during the trial that she had filed an estate tax return in the estate of her deceased husband, in which she listed all the property as community property. She acknowledged that she had filed an inventory in the estate of her husband which showed that the minors had an interest in the estate, both real and personal, and that she later contended that all the property is community property and conceded this would decrease the interest of the minors in the estate. The deeds of conveyance by the father and mother of Robert and his brother to the ranch state the consideration is the natural love that they have for their sons, and that such conveyances are deeds of gifts. The deeds, however, contain an assumption of the unpaid balance of a Federal land bank indebtedness. This alone would not change the status of the property as separate or community, as the status is fixed at the inception of the conveyance. 2 However, it could give the basis for a claim for reimbursement by the community against the separate property. Claims against an estate of the minors are filed with the guardian; and, if appellant was appointed guardian and such a claim filed, she would be passing on her own claim. See Section 298, 309, Texas Probate Code.

Penny v. Hampton, 283 S.W. 599 (Tex.Civ.App. — Texarkana 1926, no writ), was a guardianship of minor children where both an uncle and a grandfather were contesting the right to be appointed guardians and involved the proceeds of an insurance policy of the deceased father of such minors. The court said, that under the statutes, the grandfather was given a preference to be appointed and had an absolute right to be appointed guardian of his orphaned grandchildren as against an uncle not of blood kin; that such right cannot be taken away from the grandfather unless he is disqualified; that the sole question to be determined in such case was whether or not the grandfather was disqualified upon grounds of conflict of financial interests with those of the minors. The court, in affirming the appointment of the uncle, said that since the grandmother was claiming the benefits of such insurance policy that the claim of the grandmother in legal effect would disqualify the grandfather from appointment as guardian. The court further said it would involve a proceeding or action of some character to determine the justness of the claim of appellant’s (grandfather’s) wife and of the minors to the insurance, and during the time of the dependency of the controversy, the appellant would be and continue in the position of one holding a conflict of interest with those of the minors, and not as one with absolute freedom of legal duties towards the minors.

In McAllen v. Wood, 201 S.W. 433 (Tex.Civ.App. — San Antonio 1918, writ ref’d), the court, in upholding an appointment of a person named Wood as guardian of four minor children as against the *751 mother of the children, stated that since the mother was claiming title to all of the estate under instruments which were executed under circumstances raising a question as to their effect and validity, the interest of the minors could only be adequately protected by having them represented by a disinterested person who would have the validity of such instruments tested in a court of competent jurisdiction.

A recent case by this Court, Dobrowolski v. Wyman, 397 S.W.2d 930 (Tex.Civ.App. —San Antonio 1965, no writ), is directly in point. In this case, the husband had been appointed guardian of the estate of his wife Eulaya E. Dobrowolski, an incompetent. The daughter of Mrs. Dobrowolski by a former marriage sought to have the husband removed and herself appointed as the guardian on the grounds that the husband was disqualified under the provisions of Section 110(e) of the Texas Probate Code. The trial court removed the husband and appointed the daughter. This court, in affirming, stated:

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Bluebook (online)
511 S.W.2d 748, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2503, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/phillips-v-phillips-texapp-1974.