Texas § ES.255.451 - CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH WILL MAY BE MODIFIED OR REFORMED

§ ES.255.451. CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH WILL MAY BE MODIFIED OR REFORMED

CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH WILL MAY BE MODIFIED OR REFORMED. (a) Subject to the requirements of this section, on the petition of a personal representative, a court may order that the terms of the will be modified or reformed, that the personal representative be directed or permitted to perform acts that are not authorized or that are prohibited by the terms of the will, or that the personal representative be prohibited from performing acts that are required by the terms of the will, if: (1) modification of administrative, nondispositive terms of the will is necessary or appropriate to prevent waste or impairment of the estate's administration; (2) the order is necessary or appropriate to achieve the testator's tax objectives or to qualify a distributee for government benefits and is not contrary to the testator's intent; or (3) the order is necessary to correct a scrivener's error in the terms of the will, even if unambiguous, to conform with the testator's intent. (a-1) A personal representative seeking to modify or reform a will under this section must file a petition on or before the fourth anniversary of the date the will was admitted to probate. (b) An order described in Subsection (a)(3) may be issued only if the testator's intent is established by clear and convincing evidence. (c) Chapter 123 , Property Code, applies to a proceeding under Subsection (a) that involves a charitable trust. Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 949 (S.B. 995 ), Sec. 19, eff. September 1, 2015. Amended by: Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 844 (H.B. 2271 ), Sec. 22, eff. September 1, 2017.