In re Estate of Rice
| Decision Date | 13 June 2013 |
| Docket Number | NO. 09-12-00295-CV,09-12-00295-CV |
| Parties | IN THE ESTATE OF ROGER DALE RICE |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
This is an appeal of the trial court's judgment and orders in an heirship proceeding. In six appellate issues, appellant Vickey Rice ("Vickey") challenges the trial court's final judgment determining and declaring heirship, the trial court's order denying her the status of putative spouse, and the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law. We affirm the trial court's judgment and order, and find that legally and factually sufficient evidence supports the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Vickey filed an application to determine heirship after the death of Roger Dale Rice. Vickey contended in the application that she was the decedent's wife and was therefore entitled to share his estate with his two children. Vickey also contended the decedent was previously married, and the marriage terminated "[p]rior to December 31, 2004[,] based on information and belief[.]" Vickey alleged in the alternative that "if the Court were to find any legal impediment to the marriage between Roger Dale Rice and Vickey Rice, that Vickey Rice would then be the innocent good faith, 'putative spouse' of Roger Dale Rice." Vickey also filed an application for independent administration and for letters of administration, in which she contended that administration of the estate was necessary due to pending wrongful death litigation concerning the events that led to the decedent's death. The trial court appointed an attorney ad litem to represent unknown heirs and heirs with a legal disability.
Appellee Kathryn Rice ("Kathryn") filed an objection to Vickey's application for determination of heirship and counter-applied for determination and declaration of heirship. Kathryn argued in her objection to Vickey's application that she is the decedent's surviving spouse. Kathryn also filed an application for appointment as independent administratrix, in which she alleged administrationwas necessary due to outstanding debts of the estate and "a survival action claim." Attached to Kathryn's original application were certified copies of a marriage license that indicated Kathryn married decedent on February 14, 1990, an order dismissing a divorce action between Kathryn and the decedent for want of prosecution on December 11, 2000, and an order dismissing a divorce proceeding between Kathryn and the decedent on December 13, 2006.
Vickey later filed an answer and objection to Kathryn's amended application, in which she contended Kathryn failed to establish a continuing marriage between Kathryn and decedent "so as to overcome the presumption in favor of the more recent marriage between Vickey Rice and Roger Rice[,]" and that Vickey was the decedent's "innocent putative spouse."
The trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the competing applications for heirship. Vickey testified that she first met the decedent when he was working at Houston Cycle Salvage, where she had taken her motorcycle. The decedent invited her to lunch, and they began a romantic relationship. Vickey testified that she and the decedent discussed their past relationships, and decedent told her he had been alone for some time, but she and the decedent did not discuss the dates of their divorces. Vickey explained, According to Vickey, the decedent referred to Kathryn as his "ex-wife[.]" Vickey testified that she believed the decedent's references to Kathryn as his "ex" meant that the decedent and Kathryn were divorced.
Vickey testified that she and the decedent discussed marriage after a few months of seriously dating, and they had planned to wed in June 2005, but they selected an earlier wedding date after decedent sustained a severe head injury in January 2005. Because the decedent did not have health insurance, Vickey and the decedent moved up the marriage date to obtain health insurance and medical treatment for the decedent. Vickey testified that she and the decedent married in a ceremony on February 18, 2005, after obtaining a marriage license, and the trial court admitted a certified copy of the marriage license into evidence. Vickey testified that she and the decedent wore their wedding rings in Kathryn's presence, and Kathryn never questioned them about the rings and never suggested that she was still married to the decedent. According to Vickey, she had no reason to believe the decedent was still married to Kathryn, and she believed her marriage to the decedent was valid. Vickey testified that the decedent never said he had not divorced Kathryn.
Vickey lived with the decedent until his death. Vickey testified that during the marriage, she and the decedent lived in Harris, Fort Bend, and San Jacinto counties. Vickey explained that after the decedent's injury, he was unable to return to work, and she cared for the decedent and provided for him. According to Vickey, decedent collected social security disability benefits after his head injury, and the benefits were sent to "Vickey Rice for Roger Dale Rice." Vickey testified that the only legal actions involving decedent of which she was aware during their marriage were a CPS case and issues involving child custody and visitation. According to Vickey, the decedent paid child support from his social security disability benefits after CPS ordered him to do so. Vickey explained that she and the decedent held themselves out as married, and the decedent referred to Vickey as his wife and she referred to the decedent as her husband. Vickey testified that Kathryn never indicated she was still married to the decedent until a wrongful death lawsuit was filed.
On cross-examination, Vickey testified that she never saw a divorce decree ending the marriage between the decedent and Kathryn, nor did she ever see a schedule for visitation between the decedent and his two children. The trial court admitted a certified copy of a status conference requested by the decedent on October 6, 2004, in a legal proceeding. Vickey testified that she believed theproceeding only concerned the CPS case, and was unaware that the decedent was discussing a divorce with his attorney or that she was mentioned by name in the decedent's divorce petition. Vickey testified that she did not recall having a 2004 conversation with Kathryn about desiring for Kathryn and the decedent to divorce.
Donald Marrs testified that he knew the decedent for over thirty years, and he knew the decedent had been previously married and had two children from that marriage. According to Marrs, the decedent subsequently introduced Vickey as his wife, and the decedent referred to Kathryn as his ex. On cross-examination, Marrs testified that he never saw a divorce decree between the decedent and Kathryn. Marrs explained that prior to the trial, he had not met Kathryn.
Brenda Byer testified that she knew the decedent for thirty-three or thirty-four years. Byer testified she has met Kathryn, and Byer knew Kathryn and decedent were once married and had two children. Byer explained that sometime in 2008, she became aware that the decedent had married Vickey. Byers testified that the decedent told her he had divorced Kathryn, and the decedent referred to Vickey as his wife. On cross-examination, Byer testified that she never saw a divorce decree between Kathryn and the decedent. Byer testified that she never saw or spoke to Kathryn after 2003.
Kathryn testified that she married the decedent on February 14, 1990, and they had two children together. Kathryn explained that the decedent moved out of their house in 2004, and she explained that they had separated "[a] few times" before 2004. Kathryn denied holding herself out as being married to any other person since her separation from the decedent. Kathryn testified that she saw the decedent at various CPS proceedings after their separation. Kathryn testified that she was unaware that the decedent and Vickey had married until Vickey's attorney contacted her by phone before the decedent's funeral. Kathryn explained that she sometimes indicated on documents that she was single because Kathryn denied telling people she was single, and she denied filing her tax returns as a single person and explained that she instead filed as head of household. Kathryn testified that between 2005 and 2011, she told her best friend that she was married to the decedent. Kathryn admitted that during her deposition, she testified that she only told family members that she remained married to the decedent.
Kathryn denied holding herself out as single on a Facebook page, and she denied knowing who created the Facebook page. Kathryn testified that she did not know how the relationship status on the Facebook page changed from "single" to "widowed" the day after her deposition. According to Kathryn, she has lived inGalveston County and San Jacinto County since 1990. Kathryn testified that she did not help the decedent obtain medical treatment because she did not know that he needed help. According to Kathryn, the decedent "had to have known there was no divorce decree because there were no papers that were final papers that were served." Vickey's counsel rested at the conclusion of Kathryn's testimony.
Kathryn's aunt, Florence Zuniga, testified that she knew the decedent, and that the decedent was still her nephew on the date of his death. She testified that she saw him occasionally, but she had not seen him since he and Kathryn separated. Florence explained that she had never seen a...
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