Ambiguity in estate planning documents can lead to disputes, uncertainty, and potentially litigation. Your Trustee or Personal Representative is charged with the duty of disbursing your estate in accordance with your intent. If that intent is unclear because of murky testamentary language, your wishes may not be followed. Consider the following recent examples of how poor drafting resulting in costly litigation.
Evidence Ignored
MULDOON v. ROGERS, No. G047238. (Cal Ct. App. 2013) In an unpublished case before the California Court of Appeals, the Court was asked to determine whether a beneficiary’s delay in requesting reimbursement for educational expenses barred him from receiving those funds. Kevin Muldoon attended undergraduate school, which was paid for by his then living grandparents: Edward and Ann. He later enrolled in law school and approached his grandparents to see if they would pay for these as well. Kevin’s request was denied.
Several years later, Edward and Ann passed, leaving a Trust which provided in relevant part, that “during any period in which one or more of our grandchildren shall be enrolled as a matriculated student in an `Educational Program,’ . . . .” Kevin then filed a petition in probate court asking the judge to order the trustee to reimburse him for his law school expenses pursuant to the terms of the trust. The Trustee opposed the petition, arguing that under her interpretation of the Trust, the request for reimbursement must be made while “enrolled” in school, and not afterwards.
On appeal, Court agreed he was entitled to full reimbursement. The Court rejected arguments that Edward and Ann’s rejection of Kevin’s prior request was controlling. Instead, the Court must look at their intent at the time the irrevocable Trust was made, several years before that rejection. Ultimately the Court decided that the Trust language provided for payment expenses “during any period” a grandchild was enrolled, and not “during any current period.”
Evidence Considered
Estate of Duke, No. S199435 (Cal. 2015). In another often-cited case of ambiguities in testamentary documents, the California Supreme court was asked to determine whether a conditional bequest to a charitable organization was still valid when conditioned upon the testator passing before his spouse. The case of Estate of Duke changed the law in California regarding reformation of a Will. Prior to this seminal case, California Court ruled that if a Will was unambiguous, extrinsic evidence (evidence outside the written document) could not be introduced to reform the Will. Extrinsic evidence was only permitted if the terms of a Will were ambiguous and were used to clarify the ambiguity.
In 1984, Irving Duke prepared a handwritten Will which left the bulk of his estate to his wife, providing” that “[s]hould my wife . . . and I die at the same moment, my estate is to be equally divided [between two charitable organizations]. Irving’s wife did not die at the same moment, but instead predeceased him. The Will contained no specific provisions as to who would inherit his estate if his wife died before him. After his passing, litigation ensued. The named charitable organizations argued that Irving’s intent was for them to receive his estate. Irving’s heirs argued that the Will was unambiguous, and therefore invalid as it left no provisions to distribute his estate if his wife predeceased him. Thus leaving intestate laws to control the distribution of his estate. The California appellate court agreed with Irving’s heirs, finding that the Will was unambiguous and could not be reformed to provide for the charities. The Supreme Court overturned the decision, holding that “an unambiguous will may be reformed to conform to the testator’s intent if clear and convincing evidence establishes that the Will contains a mistake in the testator’s expression of intent at the time the will was drafted, and also establishes the testator’s actual specific intent at the time the will was drafted.”
Takeaway
Experienced Probate attorneys can draft testamentary documents to reflect a client’s intent, and help your heir and beneficiaries get what they deserve without unnecessary time and litigation costs. Contact CASHMAN LAW today for a free consultation to see how we might in reviewing or revising your estate plan, or understanding the implications of poorly drafted documents.
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