Church battle over will may require probate court to determine testamentary intent in will

This case between a Houston area church and its parishioners over what a deceased parishioner meant when he left money to the church in his will illustrates the difficulty of determining testamentary intent.  In this case the parishioner left his money to his church.  The church building needs to be repaired.  The local archdiocese wants to demolish the church structure but still receive the bequest from the will.

It is unclear from the will itself whether the money was left to the "mother church" or the local church.  This intention, if the case was in California, would be all important to determine who will actually inherit under the will.  If the decedent meant to benefit just his local church under his will then with the church being shuttered and scheduled for demolition the bequest would likely fail and then pass to the alternate beneficiary or under the laws of intestate succession.  If the decedent meant to leave money to the "mother church" through his will then the church gets the money regardless of what they do to any particular structure.

In a California probate litigation the testator's intent is at issue whenever the language of the will is ambiguous or the situation contemplated by the testator has changed in a way that frustrates the terms of the will.  In such cases, extrinsic evidence (evidence that is something other than the terms of the will) can be introduced to show what the settlor intended.  The probate court judge then decides what was intended and who inherits under the will.