Hurley v. Moody Nat. Bank of Galveston
| Decision Date | 09 January 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-02-00197-CV.,01-02-00197-CV. |
| Citation | 98 S.W.3d 307 |
| Parties | James Vincent HURLEY, Appellant, v. The MOODY NATIONAL BANK OF GALVESTON, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Steven B. Harris, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, L.L.P., Houston, TX, for Appellant.
Mark Allen Cohen, Austin, TX, Michael L. Wilson, G. William Rider, Rider & Wilson, Galveston, TX, for Appellee.
Panel consists of Chief Justice RADACK and Justices NUCHIA and JENNINGS.
Appellant, James Vincent Hurley (Hurley), appeals the trial court's judgment declaring that the trust contained in the will of Mathilde S. Hurley, Hurley's mother, (the trust) had not terminated and that Nathan Hilton (Nathan) is entitled to income under the standards specified in the trust. We affirm.
The Last Will and Testament of Mathilde S. Hurley bequeathed $50,000 to each of her two children, Paulette Hurley Hilton (Hilton) and Hurley. The rest of her estate was placed in an education trust for the benefit of her grandson, Nathan, Hilton's son. The trust provided,
For so long as my grandson, NATHAN HILTON, shall be under the age of thirty-five (35) years and shall not have "completed his education" (as that phrase is defined hereafter in this Paragraph III) so much of the income of the trust estate as shall, in trustee's opinion, be necessary for the purpose of providing the proper support, maintenance, education and welfare of my said grandson, shall be paid over from time to time to or for the benefit of my said grandson.
The balance of the trust income was to be paid, on at least an annual basis, in equal shares to Hilton and Hurley. The trust also provided,
The principal purpose of this trust is to provide for the proper education of my grandson and trustee is given absolute power to use its own best judgment in the allocation of income among my beneficiaries. Trustee shall have full and plenary powers and authority, within its own uncontrolled discretion, to do any and all things deemed necessary and advisable for the best interest of the trust and its beneficiaries, using income only for the accomplishment of such trust purposes.
For the purposes of this trust, NATHAN HILTON shall not be deemed to have "completed his education" so long as he is under thirty-five (35) years of age and shall be continuing his formal education at a recognized academic college or university which meets the approval of trustee.
When my grandson, NATHAN HILTON, shall have completed his education as that term is defined herein, or when he reaches the age of thirty-five (35) years, whichever is sooner, or in the event of the death of my grandson, NATHAN HILTON, then at that time, this trust shall terminate and upon termination, the remaining principal and any undistributed income of the trust shall be paid over in equal shares to my children, PAULETTE HURLEY HILTON and JAMES VINCENT HURLEY, share and share alike ....
. . . .
In the discharge of any such trust, Trustee shall have full and complete power to do all things and make all expenditures for the accomplishment of the purposes of the trust as Trustee may see fit....
The Moody National Bank of Galveston (the Bank) was named as independent executor of the will and trustee of the trust.
Nathan was 13 years old when the will was executed in 1990 and was 18 years old when Mathilde S. Hurley died in 1995. Nathan enrolled in college in the fall of 1996 and the spring of 1997. However, he withdrew from his classes in the spring of 1997 and did not enroll in any courses in the fall of 1997 or the spring of 1998.
In February 1997, Nathan called Roberta Dick, the Bank's trust officer who handled the trust, and told her that he did not want to continue his education and that she should terminate the trust. In March 1997, Hurley called Dick to say that Nathan had told him that he wanted the trust terminated. Hurley told Dick Dick testified that she took Nathan's age into consideration and exercised her discretion as trustee to treat Nathan's declaration as a temporary expression of his intent.
In February 1998, the Bank filed a petition for declaratory judgment, requesting the trial court to construe and interpret the testamentary trust contained in the probated will of Mathilde S. Hurley to determine whether the trust had terminated by its own terms and whether the beneficiary, Nathan, was entitled to income under the standards specified in the trust. The petition alleged that the three beneficiaries of the trust had requested that the trust be terminated, but that the purpose of the trust would not be met if the beneficiaries' request was granted.
In the spring of 1998, Nathan informed the Bank that he wished to continue his education. He moved to California in the summer and enrolled in Santa Monica Community College in the fall of 1998. He continued to be enrolled at Santa Monica at the time of trial.
The case was tried to the court in February 2001. Evidence was presented regarding Nathan's irregular enrollment at colleges, his past drug use, his current college enrollment, and his plans for his future education. Nathan testified that, at the time that he told Dick that he did not want to continue his education, he was using drugs heavily and was starting to get into cocaine and that his life was very difficult.1 He also testified that his mother was broke and needed the money and that he felt pressure from his mother and his uncle to "get the money going." He said that he agreed with them, but was not thinking rationally.
The trial court rendered a judgment declaring that the trust had not terminated under its terms and that Nathan continued to be entitled to income from the trust. The trial court was not requested to make findings of fact and conclusions of law. Hurley brings this appeal complaining that the trial court erred as a matter of law in concluding that the trust had not terminated and challenging the factual sufficiency of the evidence to support the judgment.
The rules of construction of wills and trusts are well settled. The construction of a will or a trust instrument is a question of law for the trial court. Nowlin v. Frost Nat'l Bank, 908 S.W.2d 283, 286 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, no writ). A court must construe both wills and trusts to ascertain the intent of the maker. Jewett v. Capital Nat'l Bank, 618 S.W.2d 109, 112 (Tex.Civ.App.-Waco 1981, writ ref'd n.r.e.). If the language of a trust is unambiguous and expresses the intent of the settlor, it is unnecessary to construe the...
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