Mark Sales, Christine Nowak Co-Author Article for Dallas Bar Association Newsletter
Provide Perspective on Recent Texas Supreme Court Ruling that Arbitration Provision Can Be Enforced Against Trust Beneficiary
Press Mentions
6.21.13
Mark K. Sales and Christine Adamson Nowak, each a member of Dykema’s Litigation Department and resident in the Dallas office, co-authored an article, “Compelling Trust Beneficiaries to Arbitrate in Texas,” that appears in the July 2013 issue of Headnotes, a monthly newsletter published by the Dallas Bar Association and distributed to 10,000 Dallas-area attorneys.
In the article, Sales and Nowak discuss a May 3, 2013 ruling—Rachal v. Reitz—in which the Texas Supreme Court joined two other states (Arizona and Florida) in holding that an arbitration provision contained in an inter vivos trust was valid and could be enforced against a trust beneficiary.
Sales and Nowak point out that as a result of this judgment “estate planners will need to consider the inclusion of arbitration clauses in their clients’ trust agreements.” The two also suggest the possibility that—although the Rachal case involved trusts—it may just be a “matter of time” before the reasoning of this Texas Supreme Court opinion is extended to disputes that involve wills and executors.
To read this article in its entirety, click here.
