Estate of Randall

California Court of Appeal Jun 29, 1948 No. Civ. No. 16256Published

Before: Doran

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Holding. Under Probate Code Section 41, charitable bequests exceeding one-third of an estate are voidable only to the extent that the objecting blood relatives would have inherited that property under the laws of succession; the portion of the excess that would have passed to non-qualifying heirs (such as a predeceased spouse's relative) remains with the charities.

Issues

To what extent does Probate Code Section 41 allow blood relatives to invalidate charitable bequests exceeding one-third of the estate when other non-qualifying heirs would have otherwise inherited a portion of that property?

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“Section 41 of the Probate Code is obviously intended as a complete exposition of the law of charitable gifts, and except as therein specifically indicated confers no additional rights upon any person.”

“The fact that the husband's brother cannot legally take the other one-half of such residue, because not one of the mentioned relatives of testatrix, cannot increase the appellants' share.”

86 Cal.App.2d 422 (1948) Estate of EFFIE JARRETT RANDALL, Deceased. HOWARD McCONNELL, Petitioner and Respondent,

GLEN KNOX et al., Appellants; CATHOLIC CHURCH OF SANTA MONICA et al., Legatees and Respondents.

Civ. No. 16256. California Court of Appeals. Second Dist., Div. One.

June 29, 1948. Raymond E. Parr for Appellants.

Samuel J. Crawford, Fogel & McInerney and Joseph E. Deering for Respondents.

DORAN, J.

The decedent, Effie Jarrett Randall, died on March 31, 1945, leaving a will dated January 24, 1945, which was duly admitted to probate. After certain specific legacies the will contains the following provision:

"The residue I want the Christian Church of Santa Monica and the Catholic Church of Santa Monica to have to be used to care for worthy sick old people who have no means." It was stipulated that all property of which decedent died possessed was formerly the community property of decedent and her predeceased husband, Eugene B. Randall. The trial court found that the decedent left surviving as heirs at law, a brother, Ralph Jarrett, and two nephews, Glen Knox and Stanley Knox, children of a predeceased [424] sister, who are the appellants herein. The husband's only surviving heir is Ellis E. Randall, a brother.

The balance left in the estate for distribution after payment of administration expenses and specific legacies, was $20,024.41. This balance the probate court distributed by first alloting to the two charities one-third of the net estate. The remaining two-thirds was then divided half and half between decedent's blood relatives, appellants herein, and the charities which are respondents herein.

The present appeal involves an interpretation of section 41 of the Probate Code and, according to the respondents' brief, presents the following question: "To what extent is a charitable bequest made by a will executed more than thirty days but less than six months prior to the death of the testatrix rendered voidable by Probate Code Section 41 at the instance of decedent's blood relatives, where there is a living heir of decedent's husband eligible to take under probate Code Section 228, all property involved having been derived from community property."

Estate of Randall

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DORAN, J.

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