A Texas Companion for the Course in Wills, Trusts, and Estates: Case and Statutory Supplement, 2025-2026

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Authors

Joshua C. Tate

Series / Supplements

BOOKMARK

Book length

410 pages

Publication Date

2025-08-08

Description

Table of contents

Preface

A TEXAS COMPANION FOR THE COURSE IN WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES introduces Texas-specific law that every student planning to practice law in the state should know. Developed and refined through nearly two decades of classroom use, these materials provide a solid grounding not only for the Texas Bar Examination, but also for estate planning practice in Texas. This text serves as the ideal Texas companion to Dukeminier and Sitkoff, Wills, Trusts, and Estates, Eleventh Edition. Tate's text follows the same organization, but ensures that the material is easy to teach in any order.

New to the 2025-26 Edition:

This edition has been updated to reflect changes made through the 2025 regular session of the Texas legislature, including revisions relating to beneficiary designations for manufactured homes and self-proving affidavits for wills not produced in court.
In addition, the new Texas Supreme Court case Estate of Brown on the presumption of revocation for missing wills has been added, replacing Estate of Turner from the Texas Court of Appeals.

Teachers and students will benefit from:

Citations and cross-references noting recent legislative changes
Logical sequencing that tracks the chapter order in Sitkoff and Dukeminier, Wills, Trusts, and Estates (11th ed. 2022), but may be adapted to any other casebook
Statutory provisions from the Texas Estates Code, Texas Trust Code, and other relevant statutes, along with excerpts from the Texas Constitution
Thirty-seven edited Texas cases, selected for their importance in Texas law and pedagogical value

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents
Preface to the 2025-2026 Edition

Chapter 1. Introduction: Freedom of Disposition
Chapter 2. Intestacy: An Estate Plan by Default
Chapter 3. Wills: Formalities and Forms
Chapter 4. Wills: Capacity and Contests
Chapter 5. Wills: Construction
Chapter 6. Trusts: Characteristics and Creation
Chapter 7. Nonprobate Transfers and Planning for Incapacity
Chapter 8. Limits on Freedom of Disposition: Protection of the Spouse and Children
Chapter 9. Trusts: Fiduciary Administration
Chapter 10. Trusts: Alienation and Modification
Chapter 11. Trusts: Charitable Purposes, Cy Pres, and Supervision
Chapter 12. Trusts: Powers of Appointment
Chapter 13. Trusts: Construction and Future Interests
Chapter 14. The Rule Against Perpetuities and Trust Duration

Table of Cases
Table of Statutes