Disclaimers do not act as assignments

In Inre Estate of Peyrot, (Tex.App.-Fort Worth, 2006) George Sr. diedtestate, with a will leaving everything to his wife Mary Elizabeth if shesurvived him. If she didn’t, then the estate was to be distributed per stirpes, half to one of his sons(George Jr.) and half to the descendents to his deceased son (Larry). Thoughhis wife survived him, she disclaimed her portion of the estate “in favor of”George Jr. Larry’s children moved for a declaratory judgment, and the trialcourt granted it, saying they got one-half of the estate. 

On appeal by George Jr., the trial court said in pertinentpart:

It isclear as a matter of law, that a disclaimer, if it is to be given effect, canonly be held to pass on the estate of a deceased person (bypassing one of theheirs at law) to those remaining heirs at law who would take otherwise.

We hold that a trial court is notrequired to construe the disclaimer to be an assignment to a specific personwhen the disclaimer meets all other requirements of the statute, and thestatute otherwise provides what the distribution will be.

We cannot agree that MaryElizabeth’s disclaimer “in favor of” George Jr. transformed the disclaimer intoan assignment to George Jr. Here…the trial court could not construe thedisclaimer to be an assignment to a specific person but only to those who wouldhave taken under George Sr.’s will had Mary Elizabeth predeceased him.