Estate of Dillon, Matter of, 90-CA-00700

• Decision Date: 24 February 1994
• Docket Number: No. 90-CA-00700,90-CA-00700
• Citation: 632 So.2d 1298
• Parties: In the Matter of The ESTATE OF Lawrence Thurmon DILLON, Deceased. Marva DILLON v. Myrtle Dillon BEAL.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Page 1298

632 So.2d 1298

In the Matter of The ESTATE OF Lawrence Thurmon DILLON, Deceased.

Marva DILLON v. Myrtle Dillon BEAL.

No. 90-CA-00700.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Feb. 24, 1994.

Halbert E. Dockins, Jr., Langston Frazer Dockins & Sweet, Jackson, Dennis C. Sweet, III, Langston Frazer Firm, Jackson, for appellant.

J. Peyton Randolph, II, Randolph & Eidt, Kate S. Eidt, Agnew & Associates, Jackson, for appellee.

Before DAN M. LEE and PRATHER, P.JJ., and PITTMAN, J.

PITTMAN, Justice, for the Court:

Myrtle Dillon Beal, daughter of Lawrence Thurmon Dillon, deceased, filed a petition for probate of will and for grant of letters of administration and a motion for injunctive relief requesting that Marva Dillon, the deceased's wife, be enjoined from performing any duties as Administratrix of Dillon's estate. Myrtle also filed a motion to interplead the Public Employees' Retirement System pursuant to Rule 22 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure alleging that there was a question regarding the beneficiaries of the deceased's retirement funds.

The chancellor appointed Myrtle as Executrix in accordance with the terms of the deceased's Last Will and Testament and enjoined Marva from acting in that capacity as it related to the estate. The chancellor also determined that the deceased's children were the legal beneficiaries of the retirement funds. Feeling aggrieved, Marva Dillon filed this appeal.

I.

Lawrence Thurmon Dillon was employed by the State of Mississippi as a supervisor with the Vocational Technical and Adult Education Department. On November 10, 1983, Dillon designated his three children, Myrtle, Lawrence, Jr., and Craig, as the beneficiaries of his state retirement funds. He was divorced at the time of designation. Furthermore, in a handwritten document dated July 9, 1984, which was accepted as a holographic will, Dillon informed Myrtle to contact the Mississippi Retirement system and to divide the retirement funds and the deferment funds three ways.

In 1984, the definition of "beneficiary" was changed to the following:

"Beneficiary" shall mean any person designated to receive a retirement allowance, an annuity or other benefit as provided by Articles 1 and 3, and such designation must be in writing filed in the office of the executive secretary of the board of trustees, and no designation or change of beneficiary shall be made in any other manner; however, notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the lawful spouse of a member at the time of the death of a member shall be the beneficiary of such member unless the member has designated another beneficiary subsequent to the date of marriage.

1984 Laws ch. 496 Sec. 1. ¹ See also Miss.Code Ann. Sec. 25-11-103(f) (Supp.1993). ²

Dillon married Marva on July 27, 1987. He did not designate another beneficiary subsequent to their marriage. Dillon and Marva filed a joint complaint for divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences on July 22, 1988. The parties attached a property settlement agreement to the complaint which provided the following:

Husband and Wife hereby waives [sic], releases [sic] and relinquishes [sic] to the other any and all claims and rights that he or she may have had, may now have, or may hereafter acquire to share in any capacity or to any extent in the other's estate upon the other's death, whether such right is acquired by statutory allowance, distribution in intestacy, or election to take against the other's Last Will and Testament, or any codicil or codicils thereto, under the laws of the State of Mississippi, or any other jurisdiction, now or hereafter in force. Each party shall, at the request of the other, or at the request of the other's legal representative, take any and all steps and execute, acknowledge and deliver to the other or to his or her said representative, any and all further documents, instruments, or assurances that may be required to effectuate this waiver.

(emphasis added)

In a handwritten document dated May 30, 1989, which was accepted as a codicil to Dillon's Last Will and Testament, Dillon informed Myrtle, a/k/a Michelle, that his insurance policies should pay proceeds as he directed. He also instructed her to go to the "State Dept. Finance Office." He did not make any changes regarding the retirement benefits as set out in his will.

Dillon died on September 21, 1989. At the time of his death, Marva was still his legal wife because no final divorce decree had been entered. There was conflicting testimony as to whether the parties had decided to reconcile during the 14 month period between filing the complaint for divorce and Dillon's death. The parties, however, did maintain separate residences at the time of Dillon's death.

On September 26, 1989, Marva filed a petition for appointment as administratrix and for letters of administration under the assumption that Dillon did not leave a Last Will and Testament. On that same day, a decree was entered appointing Marva as Administratrix of Dillon's estate. On October 12, 1989, Myrtle filed a petition for probate of will and for grant of letters of administration and a motion for injunctive relief. On November 21, 1989, Myrtle also filed a motion to interplead the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi alleging that she, Lawrence Dillon, Jr., and Craig Dillon were the rightful beneficiaries to Dillon's retirement funds. In her response to the motion to interplead, Marva objected claiming that the lower court did not have jurisdiction and/or in the alternative, that she was the rightful beneficiary pursuant to Sec. 25-11-103(f).

The chancellor determined that the handwritten document dated July 9, 1984, was Dillon's Last Will and Testament and that the handwritten document dated May 30, 1989, was a codicil to that will. The chancellor admitted the instruments for probate and appointed Myrtle as Executrix in accordance with the terms of the instruments. The chancellor also enjoined Marva from acting as Administratrix of Dillon's estate. Finally, the chancellor determined that Myrtle, Lawrence, Jr., and Craig were the rightful beneficiaries of Dillon's retirement funds "as it was decedent's clear intention by renaming his three children as beneficiaries in his Last Will and Testament and Codicil to be the only persons to receive the benefit of these retirement proceeds."

Marva's motion for a new trial was denied. Marva appealed the chancellor's decision assigning the following errors:

1. WHETHER SECTION 25-11-103(F) OF THE MISSISSIPPI CODE ANNOTATED 1972, AS AMENDED, CONTROLS AND PROTECTS A WIDOW'S ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO THE PROCEEDS OF A RETIREMENT POLICY WHERE THE DESIGNATED BENEFICIARIES, NAMED PRIOR TO THE DECEASED'S MARRIAGE, ARE PERSONS OTHER THAN THE WIDOW.

2. WHETHER A DECEDENT'S INTENT TO DISINHERIT A SPOUSE CONTROLS OVER A REMEDIAL STATUTE DESIGNED (1) TO PROTECT THAT WIDOW'S RIGHT TO PROCEEDS FROM A RETIREMENT POLICY; AND, (2) TO PROTECT THE WIDOW AGAINST CREDITOR'S CLAIMS OR AN INSOLVENT ESTATE.

3. WHETHER, IN THE ABSENCE OF AN INDEPENDENT ACTION AGAINST THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, A TRIAL COURT HAS JURISDICTION TO INTERPLEAD RETIREMENT SYSTEM PROCEEDS INTO AN ESTATE AND OTHERWISE TREAT THE POLICY BENEFITS AS AN ASSET OF THAT ESTATE.

4. WHETHER THERE WAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE TRIAL COURT'S FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW.

II.

1. WHETHER SECTION 25-11-103(f) OF THE MISSISSIPPI CODE ANNOTATED 1972, AS AMENDED, CONTROLS AND PROTECTS A WIDOW'S ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO THE PROCEEDS OF A RETIREMENT POLICY WHERE THE DESIGNATED BENEFICIARIES, NAMED PRIOR TO THE DECEASED'S MARRIAGE, ARE PERSONS OTHER THAN THE WIDOW.

If Sec. 25-11-103(f) is applied as written, Marva is the beneficiary of Dillon's retirement benefits. The question basically is whether the statute is constitutional. The constitutionality of the statute has never been raised in Mississippi. Although California has a similar statute and has dealt with the constitutional issue, its decisions are not controlling. The California decisions, however, do offer insight as to the merits of this issue.

In Frazier v. Tulare County Board of Retirement, 42 Cal.App.3d 1046, 117 Cal.Rptr. 386 (1974), a dispute arose as to who was entitled to receive the death benefits payable under the Tulare County Employees' Retirement System as a result of Clarence Weyand's death. Clarence married Mary Weyand in 1930. After they separated, he began living with Dorothy Frazier in 1948. Clarence and Mary were never legally divorced. Clarence was employed as a deputy sheriff of Tulare County in 1950. As a result, he also became a member of the County Employees' Retirement System. Clarence designated Dorothy as his beneficiary referring to her as his wife even though they were never married. He lived with Dorothy until 1962 and he died in 1971. At the time of his death, Mary was still his legal wife and Dorothy was his designated beneficiary.

When Clarence designated Dorothy as his beneficiary in 1950, the controlling statute provided that the death benefit would be paid to the person "as the member nominated by written designation." Tulare, 42 Cal.App.3d at 1048, 117 Cal.Rptr. at 387. In 1955, the statute was amended so that the death benefit would be paid to a surviving spouse rather than the designated beneficiary if the surviving spouse so elected. Mary, as the surviving spouse, elected to receive the death benefits and Dorothy filed suit.

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Mary and dismissed Dorothy's action. On appeal, the California Court of Appeal addressed the constitutionality of the statute. In reversing the lower court, the Court of Appeal found that the amended statute constituted "an unreasonable impairment of a vested contractual right contrary to article I, section 10, U.S. Constitution" and the California Constitution. Tulare, 42 Cal.App.3d at 1052, 117 Cal.Rptr. at 389.

The Court of Appeal, however,...