Handwritten will additional embroils dispute over place new music icon Billy Joe Shaver’s estate

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Nation new music songwriting icon Billy Joe Shaver, the self-styled “old chunk of coal,” predicted in just one of his most popular tracks that “I’m gonna be a diamond a person working day.”

It stays not known if Shaver, a challenging-residing disciple of the Texas new music outlaw mystique, ever obtained the glowing “blue pure perfect” position he hoped for.

Having said that, 18 months following Shaver’s death, his nephew and Willie Nelson’s nephew continue being embroiled in a hotly contested dispute over Shaver’s estate, which includes continuing royalty checks from Shaver’s prolific songwriting vocation that he named his “mailbox money” and assisted help him in his later several years.

The 81-year-outdated Corsicana indigenous and longtime Waco resident died in October 2020 at a Waco healthcare facility immediately after suffering a stroke. He was buried at Waco Memorial Park.

McLennan County Court-at-Legislation Decide Vik Deivanayagam executed a listening to Friday morning in which Terry Dwayne Rogers, 64, of Bellmead, and Fred Fletcher, of Bastrop, who each declare to have wills in which Shaver named them sole beneficiary, are looking for to have the other’s statements thrown out.

Shaver still left a will in 2000 that names his sister, Patricia, as executrix and left everything to her. That will was superseded by a person a few yrs afterwards, which leaves his estate to Rogers, his sister’ son.

Equally of individuals wills, and some others Shaver drafted in excess of the a long time, have been drawn up skillfully by lawyer Elizabeth Miller, who died in January 2021.

Nevertheless, Fletcher, the son of Willie Nelson’s sister, Bobbie, challenged the 2003 will by submitting a 2008 handwritten doc in which Shaver purports to title him as his sole beneficiary.

Deivanayagam heard about a hour’s value of arguments from attorneys on the two sides Friday and deferred a ruling on the summary judgment motions. Waco legal professional Bruce Perryman, who signifies Rogers with Waco attorney Whitney Fanning, said the dispute could have to be made a decision by a McLennan County jury.

Fletcher, a new music producer and a former drummer in Shaver’s band, established Arlyn Studios in Austin in 1984. It attracted prime-promoting artists, such as Nelson, Ray Charles and Neil Younger. Fletcher and Nelson co-founded Pedernales Documents in 1999.

The 2008 will, which was witnessed by 5 other people, together with Fletcher, leaves Fletcher with Shaver’s property in South Waco, which was valued at $122,030 on county tax rolls at the time of his death, along with his songs, auto, financial institution accounts and “anything of value.”

“I want him to proceed to administer all my songs small business and to maintain all earnings,” a duplicate of the handwritten will says.

Waco lawyer Andy McSwain, who signifies Fletcher with legal professional Lauren Olivarez, told the judge that Shaver and the many others executed the new will in Fletcher’s Austin business. He claimed Shaver advised those existing he no longer needed Rogers to be his beneficiary and was happy Fletcher would go on to manage his musical legacy.

“Our summary judgment argument and the affidavits of the witnesses establish up every little thing entirely,” McSwain reported. “Intention, it was adequately executed, the holographic character of the will, they establish up every thing. The just one open query is that it is lost and no one particular appreciates where the primary is. We really do not have the unique of the will. “

Fletcher has explained he retained the initial will but evidently it was shed when he moved his offices the following year. A further witness mentioned Shaver saved possession of the original.

Perryman argued that devoid of the original handwritten will, it effectively is revoked.

“Our place is this duplicate is not admissible as proof,” Perryman claimed. “Therefore, they have no situation.”

McSwain countered by declaring, “We don’t know the original will does not exist. All we know is it hasn’t been observed.”

In the option, Perryman argued, there is no evidence that the copies of the doc were not altered or that Fletcher, his loved ones and the other people did not exert undue influence on Shaver to adjust his will.

“Why are we to get Mr. Fletcher’s phrase that he just can’t deliver the original?” Perryman requested. “I assume that’ s a point concern. It could have been altered and that is why they really don’t want to clearly show it to anyone. We are not becoming inconsistent. Mr. Fletcher is simply because he explained to the courtroom Mr. Shaver had the original and any individual took it out of his dwelling. Then he will come back again and claims, ‘No, I had it and I missing it.’ Properly, that’s  really c0nvenient and we assume that is a point challenge and the jury desires to listen to it.”

Affidavits from two handwriting gurus hired by Rogers indicate that both equally observed it possible that Shaver wrote the doc. Even so, both located inconsistencies in the duplicate of the handwritten will and with known samples of Shaver’s producing. Both explained the document could not be authenticated appropriately because it is a copy and the probability of alterations exists.

Fannin questioned why Shaver would transform his longstanding observe of likely to legal professional Miller when he needed to modify his will.

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