Edna Archer, Haden Beardsley, and Sarah Kathryn Pacheco v. Janice Moody, Linda Moody, Elizabeth Moody, W.L. Moody, V, and Moody National Bank, as Trustee, 544 S.W.3d 413

Trust created by W.L. Moody, Jr. (1934) holds a 15,000‑acre ranch; plaintiff–appellants and defendants–appellees are remainder beneficiaries (grandchildren of W.L. Moody, III).
Trust terminated on the death of the last surviving child (W.L. Moody, IV — "Bill Moody") in 2014; dispute concerns how to compute each remainder beneficiary’s fractional share of the trust estate upon termination.
Relevant descendants: three siblings (Edna Moody, Virginia Moody, Bill Moody) are the parents of the remainder class; some grandchildren predeceased termination and left issue.
Article III of the trust directs distribution of the trust estate "in equal shares per stirpes to the then living grandchildren of William Lewis Moody, III, and the surviving issue of his deceased grandchildren."
Appellants (Edna/Virginia wings) argued for an initial division into three equal shares (one per each of W.L. Moody, III’s children), with grandchildren taking their parent’s share by representation (per stirpes), producing 1/6 or 1/12 shares for various descendants.
Appellees (Bill’s children) argued for a per capita split among eight grandchildren (1/8 each), with "per stirpes" applying only to the descendants of any grandchild who predeceased termination.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Meaning of "in equal shares per stirpes" in Article III — whether distribution is by ancestor (per stirpes: divide into shares by each child of W.L. Moody, III) or per capita to grandchildren	Article III requires an initial split into three equal shares (one share for each of W.L. Moody, III’s three children); grandchildren take equally from their parent’s 1/3 share	Article III distributes the estate per capita to the grandchildren (equal 1/8 shares); the term "per stirpes" only governs distribution of a deceased grandchild’s share to that grandchild’s issue	Reversed probate court: Article III unambiguously requires an initial division by ancestor (per stirpes). The estate is first divided into three shares (one per child of W.L. Moody, III); grandchildren take from their parent’s share by representation.

Valence Operating Co. v. Dorsett, 164 S.W.3d 656 (Tex. 2005) (standard of review for summary judgment)
Cantey Hanger, LLP v. Byrd, 467 S.W.3d 477 (Tex. 2015) (summary judgment movant’s burden)
Myrick v. Moody Nat’l Bank, 336 S.W.3d 795 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2011) (trust interpretation principles applied to Moody trust matters)
Hurley v. Moody Nat’l Bank of Galveston, 98 S.W.3d 307 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003) (trust construction standards)
Parker v. Parker, 131 S.W.3d 524 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2004) (court may not rewrite instrument language)
In re Estate of Rhoades, 502 S.W.3d 406 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2016) (reversal/remand where trial court’s will/trust interpretation was erroneous)
Ladd v. Whitledge, 205 S.W. 463 (Tex. Civ. App.—Amarillo 1918) (distinguished — did not involve "per stirpes" language)