Estate of Earnest Chambers v. Money

Darren Wayne Chambers appeals from a probate court order that denied his petition to be declared the sole heir by intestacy of his uncle, Earnest Chambers, Jr., and determined instead that Dorvail Money was Chambers’s natural son and sole heir. We reverse and remand for a new hearing because the probate court incorrectly applied a preponderance of the evidence standard of proof instead of the clear and convincing evidence standard, as required by Probate Code section 6453, subdivision (b) and Family Code section 7630, subdivision (c).

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Earnest Chambers, Jr. (Chambers), died in January 2007 at the age of 83. Chambers did not leave a will. In December 2007, Darren Wayne Chambers (appellant) filed a petition with the probate court alleging that under Texas law he was the adopted son of Chambers’s deceased brother, entitling him to a determination that he was Chambers’s sole heir by intestate succession. Dorvail Money (respondent) challenged that petition and asked that he be determined as the sole heir because he was Chambers’s natural son. Respondent, who was bom in 1978, claimed he was the product of Chambers’s extramarital affair with his…