Francis v. Marshall

In Francis v. Marshall, 841 S.W.2d 51 (Tex. App.--Houston 14th Dist. 1992, no writ), the trial court entered an agreed order placing the proceeds in an interest-bearing account "'pending the outcome of the criminal appeal of the primary beneficiary.'" Francis, 841 S.W.2d at 53. In fact, the Fourteenth District Court of Appeals held in Francis that the primary beneficiary's conviction obligated the probate court to acknowledge that he "'willfully brought about the death of the insured,'" and then applied article 21.23 of the Texas Insurance Code, section 1103.151's predecessor. Id. at 53-54. The court affirmed the summary judgment in favor of the contingent beneficiary after finding the primary beneficiary's conviction was conclusive "given the mandates of the Texas Insurance and Probate Codes." Id. at 54.