In re Estate of Strader

• Decision Date: 20 April 2012
• Docket Number: No. 105,964.,105,964.
• Parties: In the Matter of the ESTATE OF Betty Jo STRADER, Deceased.
• Court: Kansas Court of Appeals

47 Kan.App.2d 374

277 P.3d 1163

In the Matter of the ESTATE OF Betty Jo STRADER, Deceased.

No. 105,964.

Court of Appeals of Kansas.

April 20, 2012.

Syllabus by the Court

1. K.S.A. 59–617 and K.S.A. 59–618 are analyzed and applied.

2. The most fundamental rule of statutory construction is that the intent of the legislature governs if that intent can be ascertained.

3. When construing statutes to determine legislative intent, appellate courts must consider various provisions in pari materia with a view of reconciling and bring the provisions into workable harmony if possible.

4. In re Estate of Tracy, 36 Kan.App.2d 401, 140 P.3d 1045 (2006), and In re Estate of Seth, 40 Kan.App.2d 824, 196 P.3d 402 (2008), are compared and contrasted.

David P. Troup, of Weary Davis, L.C., of Junction City, for appellant Janet Pralle.

John McNish, of Bolton & McNish, LLC, of Marysville, for appellee Eric Strader.

William C. O'Keefe, of Seneca, for appellee Estate of Betty Jo Strader.

Joseph A. Knopp, of Knopp and Bannister, P.A., of Manhattan, for appellees Roger Strader and Regina Crowell.

Before GREENE, C.J., PIERRON and MARQUARDT, JJ.

PIERRON, J.

Janet Pralle appeals the district court's admission of the will of Betty Jo Strader, her late mother, to probate. Janet argues the will, found more than 4 years after Betty's death, is time-barred and the savings provision does not apply. We affirm the district court's decision based on the unusual facts of this case.

On October 19, 2006, Betty died in Blue Rapids, Marshall County, Kansas. She was predeceased by her husband, Gerald Strader, and survived by five adult children: Roger Strader, Alan Strader, Janet Pralle, Eric Strader, and Regina Crowell.

In December 2006, Eric filed a petition for letters of administration through his attorney, Darrell Spain. He claimed that Betty died intestate with approximately $300,000 in real estate, $20,000 in annual income, and $200,000 in personal property, and requested that Jerry Weis be appointed administrator of the estate. Janet filed an objection to the appointment of both Weis as administrator and Spain as the estate's attorney, alleging a conflict of interest.

On February 2, 2007, the district court found that Betty had died intestate on October 19, 2006, and appointed Weis administrator of her estate. Weis later valued Betty's estate at $904,415.56—$589,000 in real estate, $1,000 in household furnishings, $10 in securities, $65,985.56 in mortgages, notes, and cash, $85,200 in other personal property, and $163,220 in an oil drilling company. Throughout 2007, Weis facilitated the sale of livestock, grain, scrap metal, heavy equipment, and a lease of pastureland. Janet's appeal of a proposed sale of real and personal property and payment of Eric's $10,000 oil drilling company bonus resulted in protracted litigation. See In re Estate of Strader, No. 101,195, ––– Kan.App.2d ––––, 2010 WL 1882146 (Kan.App.2010) (unpublished opinion) (remanding for decision on merits of appeal).

In November 2010, Weis was discharged as administrator due to health concerns and replaced by William O'Keefe. In December 2010, the district court approved a public auction of the real and personal property and, notwithstanding Janet's objection, permitted a partial distribution of $20,000 to each heir. Betty's estate was worth $1,348,146.62 at final valuation, including $898,900 in real estate and $160,527.63 in personal property.

On February 22, 2011, Jason Brinegar, of Galloway Wiegers & Brinegar, P.A. (law firm), notified the court that Betty's will had been found at his Marysville law office “[d]uring a recent review of old files and general housekeeping.” That same day, Eric filed a petition for probate of the will under K.S.A. 59–618 and petitioned for a stay of the property auctions. Roger and Regina filed a brief in support of Eric's petitions for probate and stay, whereas Janet filed a petition to deny admission of the will to probate under K.S.A. 59–617.

At the evidentiary hearing on March 21, 2011, the district court took judicial notice of the original wills of both Betty and Gerald. Gerald's will had been admitted to probate years earlier. Cynthia Mason testified she had worked at the law firm as a secretary from 1978 to 2000. Witnessing wills was part of her job description. Mason testified that because the wills bore her signature and proper procedure was always followed, she must have witnessed Betty and Gerald sign their respective wills on August 28, 1985. The law firm relocated in 1984. In the old building, original wills were kept in a big safe. In the new building, they were kept in a large box with drawers like “little safe deposit boxes,” which had labels on the front and could hold up to 10 wills. Mason checked the boxes two or three times during her employment to ensure that they were correctly marked.

Keith Sprouse testified he had drafted and witnessed Betty's will. Before becoming a district court judge, Sprouse was a partner at the law firm. He drafted between 50 and 75 wills as a private practitioner. His procedure for drafting a will was to (1) meet with the client to determine his or her wishes regarding property distribution, (2) prepare the document in the proper format, and (3) ensure the document was correctly witnessed. Sprouse drafted and witnessed the wills of both Betty and Gerald. The law firm kept original wills first in a vault, then in a large box containing locked “bank box-like things.” Betty's will was kept in that box.

Eric testified he had searched for his mother's will after her death. Gerald had told Eric about the execution of the wills at the law firm, as well as the contents of the wills. Eric never had possession of his mother's will. After Betty died, Eric looked through her house but did not find her original will. Regina called the law firm and scheduled a meeting, which was attended by Eric, Regina, and Roger. In the week following Betty's death, the siblings requested her original will but Brinegar only produced an unexecuted copy. In the second week following Betty's death, Eric looked through her house again, found her safe deposit box key, and went to the bank with Roger, Weis, Spain, and Brinegar. However,the safe deposit box did not contain Betty's original will. After being notified by O'Keefe on February 16, 2011, that the law firm had found Betty's original will, Eric filed a petition for probate.

Julie Champoux testified she had worked at the law firm for 3 years as an accountant. She and Brinegar were looking through the safe deposit boxes in the law firm for another client's will when Brinegar found Betty's will. Champoux testified he was surprised to find the will.

Janet testified that she believed her mother did not have testamentary capacity. Her testimony is not relevant to this appeal.

Spain testified he was the attorney for Betty's estate. After he met with Betty's children at the law firm, Brinegar sent him two unexecuted copies or drafts of Betty's will because “that was the best they could come up with.” Janet had one of these copies (the 1996 draft) admitted into evidence to support her argument that Betty did not intend for her 1985 will to control. Upon finding Betty's original will, Brinegar contacted O'Keefe, the administrator of Betty's estate.

Regina Crowell testified that she believed Betty's will was consistent with her intentions regarding property distribution.

After hearing all the evidence, the district court admitted Betty's will to probate. The court found that In re Estate of Tracy, 36 Kan.App.2d 401, 140 P.3d 1045 (2006), controlled and In re Estate of Seth, 40 Kan.App.2d 824, 196 P.3d 402 (2008), was in accord. The court also made an express finding that no one knowingly withheld Betty's will from probate.

Janet argues the district court erred in admitting Betty's will to probate under K.S.A. 59–618. Specifically, she argues that a will offered for probate more than 6 months after the testator's death can only be admitted if knowingly withheld from probate. Eric, Roger, and Regina contend that any innocent beneficiary can use K.S.A 59–618's savings provision. O'Keefe, the administrator of Betty's estate, agrees with Eric, Roger, and Regina.

Interpretation of a statute is a question of law over which this court has unlimited review. Unruh v. Purina Mills, 289 Kan. 1185, 1193, 221 P.3d 1130 (2009).

The most fundamental rule of statutory construction is that the intent of the legislature governs if that intent can be ascertained. Bergstrom v. Spears Manufacturing Co., 289 Kan. 605, 607, 214 P.3d 676 (2009). When construing statutes to determine legislative intent, appellate courts must consider various provisions of an act in pari materia with a view of reconciling and bringing the provisions into workable harmony if possible. Redd v. Kansas Truck Center, 291 Kan. 176, 195, 239 P.3d 66 (2010).

If a district court reaches the right result, its decision will be upheld even though it relied upon the wrong ground or assigned erroneous reasons for its decision. Rose v. Via Christi Health System, Inc., 279 Kan. 523, 525, 113 P.3d 241 (2005).

K.S.A. 59–617 states: “No will of a testator who died while a resident of this state shall be effectual to pass property unless a petition is filed for the probate of such will within six months after the death of the testator, except as hereinafter provided.”

An exception to the 6–month limitation is found in K.S.A. 59–618:

“Any person who has possession of the will of a testator dying a resident of this state, or has knowledge of such will and access to it for the purpose of probate, and knowingly withholds it from the district court having jurisdiction to probate it for more than six months after the death of the testator shall be liable for reasonable attorney fees, costs and all damages sustained by beneficiaries under the will who do not have possession of the will and are without knowledge of it and access to it. ...