Mcle Self-study Article Beyond Barefoot - Standing in Trust, Estate, Elder Abuse and Related Litigation
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Author | Written by Dave G. Knitter, Esq. and Kelsey I. Knitter, Esq.* |
Written by Dave G. Knitter, Esq. and Kelsey I. Knitter, Esq.*
In trust, estate, and elder abuse litigation, standing is often complicated and may bar a party from pursuit of their claim. Establishing standing is a prerequisite to pursuit of any court action. The issues and analyses vary in different types of actions and depend on what position the party holds in the dispute. This article provides an overview of many common standing issues that arise in the trust, estate, and elder abuse context, as well as conservatorships and appeals.
While standing is an element of every claim,1 in California, there are two bodies of law which provide authority for standing: the Civil Rule and the Probate Rule.
The Civil Rule, governed by California Code of Civil Procedure section 367, provides that "[e]very action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest, except as otherwise provided by statute."2 A "real party in interest" has been defined as one who has an actual and substantial interest in the subject matter of the action and who would be benefited or injured by the judgment in the action.3 In examining or arguing standing, this foundational standing rule should always be considered. If a party's interests are affected, the party should be allowed to participate in the proceeding even if the Probate Rule does not specifically provide for standing, since the party's rights and interests are being adjudicated.
The Probate Rule is created through a variety of statutes indicating in what particular circumstances a person has standing. Probate Code section 48 provides a specific detailed definition of an "interested person" who can "make a response or objection in writing at or before the hearing."4 An interested person is: "(1) an heir, devisee, child, spouse, creditor, beneficiary, and any other person having a property right in or claim against a trust estate or the estate of a decedent which may be affected by the proceeding; (2) [a]ny person having priority for appointment as personal representative; (3) [a] fiduciary representing an interested person."5
The meaning of interested person may vary from time to time because it is determined according to the "particular purposes of, and matter involved in, any proceeding."6 Therefore, a party may be an interested person in one capacity for purposes of one proceeding but not for another.7
Courts have interpreted the Probate Rule as applying only to pecuniary interests in the devolution of the estate that may be impaired or defeated by probate of the will or benefitted by having it set aside.8 An executor who is left nothing is not an interested person in this context.
Unless the Probate Code specifically provides who has standing in a particular matter, Code of Civil Procedure section 367 arguably applies.9 Notably, Probate Code section 48, subdivision (b), provides the court with greater flexibility in determining standing than standing as provided pursuant to the Code of Civil Procedure. As noted, a person may be an interested party in one capacity or for purposes of one proceeding, but not for another.10
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Standing for claims after death depends on the nature of the claim. Successors in interest, heirs, trustees, and personal representatives may have standing to bring a claim after death depending on the nature of the claim. A successor in interest is a "beneficiary of the decedent's estate or other successor in interest who succeeds to a cause of action or to a particular item of the property that is the subject of a cause of action."11
A petition for revocation of a will admitted to probate may be filed by "any interested person" other than a party to a will contest or a person who had actual notice of a will contest in time to have joined in the contest.12 An "interested person" who may contest a will is one who has such an interest as may be impaired or defeated by the probate of the will, or benefitted by setting it aside.13
Although the definition of interested party is broad, it is limited in one significant aspect: the party must have a property right affected by the lawsuit. The status of heir or beneficiary alone is not enough to make a party an "interested person."14 As the court has noted, "an interested person is one who has such a pecuniary interest in the devolution of the testator's estate as may be impaired or defeated by the probate of the will or be benefitted by having it set aside."15
Under a will, there can be a variety of interested persons as discussed below.
A. Beneficiaries
If a beneficiary has a property right in or claim against the estate of a decedent which may be affected by the proceeding, the beneficiary is an "interested person" with standing to participate in the contest.16
A beneficiary under a later will has standing to contest an earlier will if the beneficiary's interest might be impaired or defeated by probate of the earlier will.17 The preferable procedure to contest an earlier will is to consolidate the proceedings to probate both wills.18
A beneficiary under an earlier will, whose interest may be impaired or defeated by a later will has standing to contest the later will, even though the beneficiary would not take by intestate succession if the contested will were set aside.19The contestant may contest the later will without first obtaining probate of the earlier will.20
Beneficiaries have standing even if they are only entitled to the remainder of the estate, which may result in no distribution. Estate of Plaut provides an example of the application of this principle.21 In Plaut, the decedent was survived by his daughter and her two children.22 Two months before Plaut's death, he added a codicil to his will giving his nurse $15,000.23 Plaut's granddaughter, the residuary legatee, sought to revoke the probate of the codicil on the grounds of undue influence.24 The court held that, although the granddaughter may never take any part of the estate, she should be allowed to contest any testamentary disposition likely to impair her legacy as a remaindermen.25
The right to contest is extended to a beneficiary under an earlier will that has been lost or fraudulently destroyed or destroyed by another without the testator's knowledge or consent.26 A will contestant who derives standing from an earlier will may, if the contestant's interest is expressly challenged, be required to establish standing before proceeding to trial to contest the later will.27
To establish standing, courts require that petitioner prove the lost or destroyed will was in existence at the time of the testator's death or that it was fraudulently destroyed.28 In proving the existence of a lost will, contestants must make a prima facie showing that they have some reasonable expectation of being able to probate the lost will.29 How much is required to establish a "reasonable expectation" is unclear. At least one court has found that it is not sufficient to allege a claim "upon very vague hearsay."30 Without a prima facie showing of a lost or destroyed will, a contestant unrelated to decedent will lack standing.
B. Intestate Heirs
Intestate heirs are those who will take any part of the estate which is not effectively disposed of by will.31 Because the interests of intestate heirs are affected by any will, they are always interested persons for purposes of a will contest.
The court upheld this principle in Estate of Robinson.32 In that case, respondents argued that the testator's heirs did not have a valid interest that would enable them to challenge the will because they would not gain more by revocation of the will; a valid prior will provided them with the same or lesser bequest than the challenged will.33 The court held the heirs had a sufficient interest to challenge the will, despite the fact they would not gain more by revocation.34 Because they could take by intestate succession as heirs, either in whole or in part, any will making a disposition of the decedent's property then invades their interest as heirs.35 The fact that a prior valid will granted the same bequest to the contestants did not invalidate the heirs' interest in the action. The heirs could contest the prior wills if offered for probate.36
Probate Code section 6401 defines heirs at law for purposes of intestate succession. This definition includes a variety of individuals, based on who is living at the time of the decedent's death.
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Under section 6401, when a decedent dies without a will, the surviving spouse will take in whole or in part. If the decedent did not leave any surviving issue, parent, sibling, or issue of deceased sibling, the surviving spouse will take the entire estate.37 The surviving spouse will take half of the separate property intestate estate if the decedent leaves only one child or the issue of one deceased child, or if the decedent leaves no issue, but leaves a parent or the issue of said parent.38 The surviving spouse will take one-third of the separate property intestate estate if the decedent leaves more than one child or the issue of one or more deceased children.
In Estate of Sobol, the Court of Appeal found that a testator's nephew was not an "interested person" because he had no property right in or claim against the trust estate.39 According to the court, the status as heir or beneficiary, by itself, is not enough to make a party an "interested person" with standing to participate in the will contest.40 Notably, the court found that the probate court had discretion to consider on its own motion whether a codicil was procured by undue influence—though it has no duty to do so.41
Intestate heirs can include: spouses, parents, stepparents, brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters, half-brothers, half-sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, first cousins, or any...
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