Octavia Novak v. Rhonda Ray Stevens

The questions presented are whether a district court, sitting in probate, has jurisdiction to hear an application for the probate of a will and a will contest and also to construe a will to determine whether it was a contractual will. The district court consolidated two probate matters for trial and then rendered one summary judgment which denied probate of a 1968 will and rendered another summary judgment that admitted to probate a 1976 will. The court construed the 1968 will as a non-contractual will and refused to impress a constructive trust upon the estate. The court of civil appeals reformed the judgment, holding that the district court lacked jurisdiction to construe the 1968 will but that, assuming the court had jurisdiction, a summary judgment should not have been granted which denied the contractual nature of the 1968 will. 583 S.W.2d 669. We reverse the judgment of the courts below and render judgment that the district court had jurisdiction, that the 1968 will was contractual, and that a constructive trust should be impressed upon the estate property.