In re Estate of Clare
| Decision Date | 03 March 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. 112,762,112,762 |
| Citation | 389 P.3d 1274,305 Kan. 967 |
| Parties | In the MATTER OF the ESTATE OF Michael A. CLARE, Deceased. |
| Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
John W. Kurtz, of Hubbard & Kurtz, L.L.P., of Kansas City, Missouri, was on the brief for appellant Jessica Kay Crosslin.
Charles J. Andres, of Olathe, was on the brief for appellee Christine J. Clare.
This appeal involves a claim against an estate under the Kansas Probate Code. Because the decisions of the district court and the Court of Appeals conflict with our holding in In re Estate of Rickabaugh , ––– Kan. ––––, 390 P.3d 19 (), we reverse both courts and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
On December 22, 2013, Michael A. Clare shot and killed his wife, Deborah Clare, and then took his own life. He died intestate. The principal asset of his estate was a $250,000 life insurance policy. Deborah was listed as the beneficiary, with Michael's legal children listed as the contingent beneficiaries. However, Michael had no legal children.
Shirley R. Stockton was Michael Clare's mother. Christine J. Clare is the sister of Shirley Stockton. Jessica Kay Crosslin is the biological daughter of Deborah Clare.
Crosslin filed a petition for letters of administration on June 10, 2014. On June 16, 2014, Crosslin, through counsel, exchanged e-mails with Jodi Sullivan, an administrative assistant for the district court, requesting a date for a hearing on the petition. Crosslin chose July 21, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., as a hearing date and time, and Sullivan informed her that she would "put it on our calendar." Sullivan subsequently entered that date and a hearing time on the court's electronic docket sheet. Crosslin did not, however, submit an order for hearing for signature, and no such order was issued. Crosslin subsequently published a notice of hearing and notice to creditors in the Olathe News.
On July 2, 2014, while that hearing was pending, Shirley Stockton filed a nomination for Christine Clare to be issued letters of administration in Michael's estate. Christine concurrently filed a petition for letters of administration. She also submitted an order for hearing, setting a hearing date of July 21, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., for the signature of the court. On July 3, 2014, the judge signed the order, apparently through an assistant.
Crosslin was appointed administrator of Deborah Clare's estate. Then, on August 25, 2014, the district court entered an order appointing Christine Clare administrator of Michael Clare's estate.
On September 24, 2014, the district court entered an order determining that Crosslin had failed to commence proceedings in a timely fashion because she did not procure an order of hearing. On September 26, 2014, Crosslin, both in her individual capacity and as the administrator of the estate, filed a wrongful death action against Michael Clare's estate; she also filed a timely notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals from the September 24, 2014, order. The Court of Appeals panel affirmed the district court, and this court granted review with respect to the single issue raised on appeal.
Crosslin asks this court to determine whether the district court erred when it held that she failed to satisfy a statutory time limitation for filing a claim against the estate because she failed to obtain a written, signed judicial order setting the matter for hearing.
The facts relating to this issue are uncontested. Application of legal principles to undisputed facts involves questions of law subject to de novo review. See State v. Morris , 276 Kan. 11, 15, 72 P.3d 570 (2003).
The governing statute regarding time limitations for claims against an intestate estate is K.S.A. 59–2239(1). In relevant part, it states:
"No creditor shall have any claim against or lien upon the property of a decedent other than liens existing at the date of the decedent's death, unless a petition is filed for the probate of the decedent's will pursuant to K.S.A. 59–2220 and amendments thereto or for the administration of the decedent's estate pursuant to K.S.A. 59–2219 and amendments thereto within six months after the death of the decedent and such creditor has exhibited the creditor's demand in the manner and within the time prescribed by this section, except as otherwise provided by this section." (Emphasis added.)
As is the case with K.S.A. 59–617, which sets a time limitation for passing property under a will and which was the subject of Rickabaugh , K.S.A. 59–2239(1) requires only the filing of a petition in order to meet the time limitations. Neither statute mentions a requirement of causing the setting of a hearing. Crosslin did all that she was required to do under K.S.A. 59–2239(1) : she filed a petition within 6 months of Clare's death.
K.S.A. 59–2204 further states that a party commences a probate proceeding by filing a petition and then causing it to be set for hearing. The district court held that Crosslin failed to cause her petition to be set for a hearing before the K.S.A. 59–2239(1) statute of limitations expired. This was because Crosslin did not have the court enter a written order for hearing.
We held in Rickabaugh that the probate code does not require a particular procedure for setting a hearing. Here, counsel corresponded with the court's administrative assistant, who then set the hearing on the court calendar. The date and time were entered into the district court's electronic docket. We must now consider whether the rules of a particular district court may create a requirement that is absent in the statute.
The district court in Rickabaugh noted that different districts follow different practices for setting hearings, and it found that the petitioners had complied with local procedures by requesting that the court set the matter on its docket. The district court in the present case, however, cited specific local rules with which Crosslin apparently did not comply.
Johnson County Local Court Probate Rule. 1(A)(1) states:
"It shall be the duty of the filing attorney (or pro se petitioner) to obtain, at the time of the filing of the petition, a hearing date for the hearing of the petition filed, and to provide an 'Order of Hearing' presented to the Court for execution and filing, unless all appropriate documentation, including the entries of appearance, consents and waivers, are filed with the petition."
Local Rule 1(A)(1)(a) states:
Local Rule 1(A)(3) states:
"Any order that is for the purpose of scheduling only may be...
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In re Estate of Oroke
...Application of legal principles to undisputed facts involves questions of law subject to de novo review. In re Estate of Clare , 305 Kan. 967, 969, 389 P.3d 1274 (2017).Analysis In order to commence an action in probate regarding the contents of a will, a petitioner must file the will with ......
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In re Estate of Rickabaugh
...court has also taken on review In re Estate of Clare , 51 Kan.App.2d 886, 357 P.3d 303 (2015), reversed in In re Estate of Clare , ––– Kan. ––––, 389 P.3d 1274, 2017 WL 839447 (No. 112,762, this day decided). Clare presents a question closely related to an issue raised in the present appeal......