Southside Baptist Church v. Drennen

I dissent from Mr. Justice Jones' majority opinion because I agree with Mr. Justice Beatty's comment in his concurring opinion that such a holding "would set an undesirable precedent in the already tenuous area of testamentary construction."

I cannot agree with the majority that the words "lawful issue" in testator's will (when the same was executed in 1928) include "adopted children" just because in 1931 the legislature passed an act giving an adopted child the rights of inheritance from his adopting parents as if born to them in lawful wedlock.

I think a short history of our case law in this…