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Keywords

equityappealtrialtrustwill
equityappealtrialpleatrustwilldivorceappellant

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Brinker v. Wobaco Trust Ltd., 610 S.W.2d 160

Facts

Cynthia and Brenda Brinker, daughters of Norman and Maureen Brinker, brought a suit to reform three trust instruments to exclude children from Norman's second marriage as beneficiaries. After Maureen's death, Norman created trusts for Cynthia and Brenda, intending for them to be the sole beneficiaries. However, he later transferred assets from Maureen's estate to a trust benefiting his second wife's children, prompting the daughters to seek legal action to assert their rights to the trusts.

Cynthia and Brenda are the only children born to Norman and Maureen Brinker. Maureen died on June 21, 1969. Norman married Magrit Fendt in 1971, and they had two children, Christina and Mark, before their marriage ended in divorce in 1977.

Issue

Did the trial court err in refusing to admit evidence of a mistake in the drafting of the trust instruments that would warrant their reformation?

Did the trial court err in refusing to admit evidence of a mistake in the drafting of the trust instruments that would warrant their reformation?

Rule

If, by mistake, an instrument as written fails to express the true intention or agreement of the parties, equity will grant reformation of the instrument so as to make it correctly express the agreement actually made.

If, by mistake, an instrument as written fails to express the true intention or agreement of the parties, equity will grant reformation of the instrument so as to make it correctly express the agreement actually made.

Analysis

The court found that the evidence presented raised a fact issue regarding whether a mistake had been made in the drafting of the trust instruments. Testimonies indicated that both Norman and Maureen intended for the trusts to benefit only their two daughters, and that the language used in the trusts may not have accurately reflected this intention. The court concluded that the exclusion of this evidence was erroneous and warranted a new trial.

The foregoing summary demonstrates that a fact issue was made on the question of mistake in the drafting of the trust indenture to correctly express the parties' intention. The evidence raising such issue should have been admitted on appellants' plea for reformation.

Conclusion

The court reversed the trial court's decision and remanded the case for a new trial, allowing for the admission of evidence regarding the alleged drafting mistake.

The judgment will therefore be reversed and remanded for a new trial.

Who won?

Cynthia and Brenda Brinker prevailed in the appeal because the court recognized the need for a new trial to consider evidence that could support their claim of a drafting mistake.

Cynthia and Brenda Brinker prevailed in the appeal because the court recognized the need for a new trial to consider evidence that could support their claim of a drafting mistake.

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