Justia Trusts & Estates Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Georgia Supreme Court
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Lou Ann Cassell inherited $220,000 from a relative. After consulting with advisors, she used the inherited funds to purchase a single-premium fixed annuity from National Life Insurance Company. Cassell was 65 years old at the time she purchased the annuity. The annuity agreement provided monthly annuity payments of $1,389.14, and guaranteed payments for 10 years regardless of when Cassell died, naming her children as beneficiaries should she die within the guaranteed payment period. Cassell was not authorized to withdraw any funds from the annuity, cancel the annuity, or change the payment terms of the agreement. She was authorized to assign the right to the annuity payments and to change the name of her beneficiaries during the guaranteed period. In May 2010, Cassell filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in the Bankruptcy Court and included the annuity as an asset. However, she also listed the annuity as exempt property under OCGA 44-13-100 (a) (2) (E). The trustee objected, arguing the annuity payments did not meet two of the requirements necessary to qualify for the statutory exemption, specifically that the annuity was not funded by employment related wages or benefits and the payments due under the annuity were not "on account of age." The bankruptcy court disagreed and entered an order concluding that the two challenged requirements were met. It did not make a ruling with regard to the third requirement, that the payments be reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor or her dependents, because it concluded the parties had provided insufficient evidence pertaining to that issue. The United States District Court affirmed on appeal and remanded to the bankruptcy court for it to rule on the issue not addressed in its original order. Rather than litigate that issue in the bankruptcy court, the trustee conceded the annuity was reasonably necessary for the support of Cassell and appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. After briefing and oral argument by the parties, the Eleventh Circuit recognized the absence of precedent on the dispositive issues of state law and certified its questions to the Georgia Supreme Court: (1) is a single-premium fixed annuity purchased with inherited funds an "annuity" for purposes of OCGA 44-13-100 (a) (2) (E); and (2) is a debtor's right to receive a payment from an annuity "on account of . . .age" for the purposes of OCGA 44-13-100 (a) (2) (E) if the annuity payments are subject to age-based federal tax treatment, if the annuitant purchased the annuity because of age, or if the annuity payments are calculated based on the age of the annuitant at the time the annuity was purchased. The Supreme Court found that a single-premium fixed annuity purchased with inherited funds may qualify as an exempt annuity under 44-13-100 (a) (2) (E) and that the determination of whether a right to receive payment from an annuity is "on account of" age for purposes of 44-13-100 (a) (2) (E) is not necessarily based on the existence of a single factor but requires consideration of a variety of factors pointing to the existence of a causal connection between the payee's age and the right to payment. View "Silliman v. Cassell" on Justia Law

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In "Norman v. Gober,"(707 SE2d 98 (2011)), the Supreme Court considered whether eleven-year-old William Howard Norman had standing to challenge the will of his maternal grandmother, Margaret Scheer, because he was not an heir-at-law when his caveat was filed. The Court found that Norman lacked standing to challenge the will because he was not "a person who will be injured by probate of [the] [W]ill, or who will benefit by its not being probated." After this opinion was issued, the Co-Executors filed a Petition for Declaratory Judgment and served discovery requests on the other beneficiaries to ascertain the facts surrounding the caveat. The appellant beneficiaries filed a motion to dismiss the Co-Executors’ petition for failure to state a claim, arguing there was no uncertainty of law and therefore no justification to request a declaratory judgment. Specifically, Appellants contended that (1) the prior caveat filed by Norman, which was dismissed for lack of standing, was not an actual will contest, and, therefore, the in terrorem clause could not have been violated by anyone, even by attribution and (2) the rights of the parties had already accrued and no uncertainty remained requiring direction from the court. The probate court denied the motion to dismiss and later denied Appellants’ motion for reconsideration. Finding no error in the probate court's decisions, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Norman v. Gober" on Justia Law

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Through interrogatories, a jury determined that David Keever, individually and in his capacity as administrator of the Estate of Henry Keever, failed to prove that he had adversely possessed certain land whose record title was held by James R. Dellinger, Jr. and Frank Troutman. Specifically, the jury found that, although Keever had proven all other elements of adverse possession, he had failed to establish exclusive possession. Keever appealed, contending, among other things, that the trial court made improper evidentiary rulings. Finding no errors, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's ruling. View "Keever v. Dellinger" on Justia Law

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Eloise Collins died in 2006. In July 2007, Lydia Swain, Collins’ goddaughter, filed a petition to probate two instruments alleged to be Collins’ will: an unwitnessed letter written in 1999 detailing how Collins wanted her property distributed after her death and a partially filled-out commercial will form that, while properly witnessed, did not address distribution of property. A number of Collins’ first cousins (collectively, Lee) challenged the will and the trial court initially granted judgment on the pleadings in their favor, finding that the two documents could not form a valid will. Swain appealed and the Supreme Court held that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the two documents, considered together, created a valid will. On remand, a jury found that the two instruments were indeed “the true Last Will and Testament of Eloise Harley Collins.” Lee appealed, claiming that the trial court erred by failing to grant summary judgment or a directed verdict, improperly instructing the jury on the law regarding codicils, and refusing to include a number of requested instructions in its charge to the jury. Upon review, the Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed the trial court’s verdict in favor of Swain. View "Lee v. Swain" on Justia Law

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Caveator Lisa Patterson-Fowlkes appealed a superior court's denial of her motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or in the alternative, motion for a new trial, following the entry of a final judgment on a jury verdict which upheld the last will and testament of her grandmother, Ruth Chancey Wright ("Wright"). The sole challenge on appeal was that Wright lacked the capacity necessary to execute the will. Wright executed her will on November 1, 2005, when she was 90 years old. She died three years later. Wright's grandson and Patterson-Fowlkes's brother, Bobby Chancey ("Chancey ") petitioned to probate the will. Shortly after, Patterson-Fowlkes filed her caveat. The probate court denied the caveat and upheld the will. Patterson-Fowlkes appealed to the superior court, and the case was tried before a jury, which rendered a verdict upholding the will. After its review of the lower courts' records, the Supreme Court found that the execution of Wright's will was videotaped. Patterson-Fowlkes contended that Wright was unable to answer simple questions such as recalling her family members and identifying the property subject to the will. However, the videotape revealed that when asked, Wright immediately named her sister, brother, and sister's children. She further identified her two grandchildren to whom her property was bequeathed and even her great- grandchildren. Wright mistakenly claimed that she owned two separate 100-acre tracts that she purchased for Patterson-Fowlkes and Chancey. While this was inaccurate, when asked what she wanted to do with her land, Wright answered how she wanted the property disposed. The Court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to authorize the jury to find that Wright possessed the capacity to execute the will in question: "significantly, the jury viewed the videotape of the will's execution, which is a linchpin of Patterson-Fowlkes's challenge." Accordingly, the Court affirmed the superior court's to deny Patterson-Fowlkes' motions. View "Patterson-Fowlkes v. Chancey" on Justia Law

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Appellant Andrea Brown Jacobs and several family members holding ownership interest in certain undeveloped real property filed a partition action in January 2006 after another family member, Mary Young, refused to sign a contract for the sale of the property. The parties entered into a consent writ of partition which provided for the sale of the property pursuant to OCGA 44-6-166.1. However, neither Young nor any other party in interest tendered the sums necessary to purchase petitioners' shares of the property. Mary Young then deeded her interest in the property to the Mary E. Young Revocable Trust and died one day later. In 2010, the case appeared on a pretrial calendar; the property not having been sold and there being no appearance by Young or anyone on her behalf, the trial court struck Young's pleadings, entered judgment in favor of the petitioners, and appointed three commissioners to conduct the sale of the property consistent with the requirements of OCGA 44-6-167 through 169. Because the property had not been sold and the owners of the property still were unable to reach an agreement with regard to its disposition, the court, believing that a mandated public sale would cause financial loss to all owners, amended its 2010 partition order to provide for the listing of the property with a particular broker with the terms of the sale to be established by a majority of the previously appointed commissioners. The 2010 judgment was quickly voided by the trial court after certain petitioners alleged counsel had acted without authority in seeking the partition order. In September 2011, petitioner Florence Brown through new counsel filed a motion for order for public sale. After a hearing on Brown's motion, the trial court entered an order for public sale and appointed three commissioners to conduct the sale. The sale was advertised and the property sold to the highest bidder. Appellant Jacobs appealed orders in Case No. S12A1340. In Case No. S12X1342, Brown filed across-appeal stating she was satisfied with the trial court's orders and was cross-appealing only to ensure the entire record was included on appeal. Because the Supreme Court found that all parties received proper notice of the partition action and in fact, agreed to the entry of a final consent judgment of partition which gave rise to the trial court's authority to order the public sale, the trial court's orders confirming the sale of the property and directing the parties and parties in interest to execute the deeds were affirmed. View "Jacobs v. Young" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals in "Glass v. Gates" to answer whether the definition of "any motor vehicle" in OCGA 33-24-51(a) continued to be the broader definition of the term provided for in prior case law, notwithstanding the 2002 passage of OCGA 36-92-1. As inmates at the Troup County Correctional facility, Jonathan Glass and Tony Smith were operating tractors when Smith's tractor got stuck in a ditch. Donrell Gates, Glass' detail supervisor, instructed the men to attach a chain to the tractors so Glass could use his tractor to pull Smith's from the ditch. As Glass did so, Smith engaged his tractor's bush hog, causing a rock to take flight and pierce Glass' throat. Glass bled profusely and died later that day. Plaintiffs, Glass' minor son and the executor of his estate, brought a wrongful death and survivor action against Troup County and Gates. The county sought summary judgment, claiming plaintiffs' claims were barred by sovereign immunity. The County asserted that by revising OCGA 33-24-51 (b) in 2002 (effective 2005), the legislature demonstrated its intent to apply the more narrow definition of "motor vehicle" found in OCGA 36-92-1 (6) in determining whether a local government waived sovereign immunity by purchasing liability insurance on a motor vehicle. The trial court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of the County, concluding that the county did not waive sovereign immunity because neither a tractor nor a bush hog could be deemed a "motor vehicle" under OCGA 36-92-1. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the broader definition of "motor vehicle" should have been applied under 33-24-51, and that therefore, the County waived its sovereign immunity as long as it purchased insurance for the tractor and bush hog used by Smith. The Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals' reasoning, and affirmed by answering the appellate court's original question in the affirmative. View "Gates v. Glass" on Justia Law

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Following trial, a jury declared that a Will and Revocable Trust executed by Thomas Hines, Sr. in 2002 were invalid as they were the product of undue influence. Steve and Deborah Davidson, executors of the Hines estate, appealed that ruling. The Davisons contended that the trial court erred in denying their motions for directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict because the evidence did not support the jury's finding. Furthermore, the Davidsons argued that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting certain evidence upon which the jury ultimately relied in reaching its decision. Finding no error nor abuse of discretion, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's decisions and the jury's verdict. View "Davison v. Hines" on Justia Law

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Appellant A.R. Mays, executor of the estate of decedent Gilbert Henry Kinchen, filed a petition to probate the decedent's will, and Appellee Katherine Rancine-Kinchen, the decedent’s widow, filed a caveat thereto. Appellant moved to dismiss the caveat. In its order resolving the motion to dismiss, the probate court granted the motion to dismiss in part by denying two counts raised by the caveat. The probate court declined to grant the remainder of the motion to dismiss when it allowed three counts of the caveat, which raised issues about a non-testamentary trust agreement that was referenced in the will, to remain pending. Because it concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to resolve the trust agreement issues, the probate court’s order transferred those issues to the superior court for resolution. Although it determined that appellee had not shown that the will was "incomplete" and "uncertain," the probate court nevertheless reserved admitting the will to probate until the trust issues were resolved by the superior court. It is from this order that Appellant directly appealed to the Supreme Court. Appellee moved to dismiss the appeal contending appellant failed to follow the correct appellate procedure. Finding that Appellee indeed did not follow the proper procedures, the Supreme Court dismissed the direct appeal. View "Mays v. Racine-Kinchen" on Justia Law

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These cases arose from a declaratory judgment action filed by a trustee seeking to determine the effect of an in terrorem clause in an express trust. At issue was whether appeals that involved the proper interpretation of a trust provision came within the court's general appellate jurisdiction over "equity cases," Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III(2), because the resolution of that legal issue would affect the administration of the trust. Consistent with the court's precedent on this question, the court concluded that such cases did not come within its equity jurisdiction. View "Durham v. Durham; Callaway v. Willard" on Justia Law