25 Feb Court Rules That Estranged, Specifically Disinherited, Daughter Could Be Sole Beneficiary of Mother’s Estate
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that, notwithstanding a provision in the decedent’s Will that her daughter was intentionally omitted and disinherited, the daughter could inherit the entirety of her mother’s estate.
Linda Giguere prepared a Will in 2012 that if her husband, William, predeceased her, then the residue of her estate would pass to her daughter, Hilary Barlow.
However, in 2013, Linda became estranged from Hilary and she had her attorney revise the Will. The pertinent provisions said, “If my husband, William D. Giguere, is deemed to have survived me, all the rest and residue and remainder of my estate, whether real, personal or mixed, including the proceeds of life insurance which may become payable to my estate, I devise and bequeath to Eric Giguere, as Trustee for the benefit of my husband, William D. Giguere.”
Upon William’s death (after payment of all expenses and fees), the balance then remaining shall be paid to William’s children. The 2013 Will also stated “I have in mind all other possible recipients of my bounty including my daughter, Hilary Barlow, from whom I am estranged but unless specifically mentioned from herein, to them I leave nothing”.
The problem was that the 2013 Will (unlike the 2012 Will) only stated what happened if William survived Linda. The Will had no named beneficiary if William predeceased Linda (and William died before her).
The children of William requested the court reform the Will stating it was a scrivener’s error so that they would be beneficiaries similar to if their father had survived Linda.
However, the Maine court ruled that Hilary, the sole child of Linda, should inherit the entirety of the estate since no contingent beneficiary was named if William predeceased Linda. Linda survived William by six years and never did a new Will.
Linda’s Will named William as the personal representative, and then Linda’s attorney as the successor. Linda’s attorney, Susan Hunter, resigned from acting as representative and no one else was named in the Will. Originally the court named Hilary to serve as the representative. The court then removed her and named an attorney to serve as the personal representative. He asked the court for instructions as to what to do (i.e. was it a scrivener’s error by the attorney in failing to state what happened if William predeceased Linda as the Will clearly did not intend Hilary to inherit).
The attorney for Linda, Susan Hunter, said during her deposition that Linda hadn’t made up her mind what to do with the estate should William predecease her and that Linda was aware that possibility wasn’t being addressed. Susan didn’t recall discussing what would happen under Maine law if not addressed (that laws of intestacy could prevail). The sons of William responded that Susan should not be believed since that was self-serving and the Will intentionally disinherited Hilary. They thought it was clearly an error to fail to have a provision of what happens if William predeceased Linda.
However, the court decided since Linda had addressed the issue of what happened in the Will if William predeceased her in her prior Will, that the trial court had no clear and convincing evidence to reform the Will and that the lack of a contingent beneficiary was not a scrivener’s error. As a result, pursuant to Maine’s law, any part of the decedent’s estate not effectively disposed of by Will passes by intestate succession – even though the Will specifically disinherited Hilary.
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