Wardani v. Wardani (In re Wardani)
| Decision Date | 31 August 2022 |
| Docket Number | D079406 |
| Citation | 82 Cal.App.5th 870,298 Cal.Rptr.3d 828 |
| Parties | ESTATE OF Ramsey Walter El WARDANI, Deceased. Janine White El Wardani, Petitioner and Appellant, v. Alexandria El Wardani, as Administrator, etc., Objector and Respondent. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
James Michael Hester for Petitioner and Appellant.
Chhokar Law Group, Kimberley Victoria Deede and Gian Ducic-Montoya, El Segundo, for Objector and Respondent.
Ramsey Walter El Wardani died intestate in 2016 and was survived by his wife Janine and daughter from a previous marriage, Alexandria (Ali).1 Four years into a protracted probate dispute between Janine and Ali, the court removed Janine as court-appointed administrator of Ramsey's estate. It deemed her ineligible to serve in that role because it found that she was not a United States (U.S.) resident as required by section 8402, subdivision (a)(4) of the Probate Code.2
Emphasizing her numerous ties to California, Janine appeals her removal as administrator of her deceased husband's estate. But as we explain, the court reasonably rejected her claim to U.S. residency despite those ties. Janine sold her home in California and moved with Ramsey to Mexico in 2014 intending to retire there. She remained in Mexico "full time" for two years until Ramsey's death. Although she returned to California for visits thereafter, she did not relocate or plan to move back to the U.S. until the probate case was over. On these facts, the court reasonably found that she was not a U.S. resident within the meaning of section 8402 and did not abuse its discretion in removing Janine as administrator. Accordingly, we affirm the order.
A year after Ramsey died intestate in August 2016, Janine petitioned for letters of administration. She checked the box on mandatory Judicial Council form (DE-111) indicating that she was a California resident and listing a P.O. Box in Bonsall as her address. Claiming Ramsey had misappropriated her separate property, Janine also filed a $285,000 creditor's claim.
In December 2017, the probate court appointed Janine as administrator with limited authority to administer the estate. Janine was required to post a $250,000 bond and could not sell, exchange, or encumber estate property. Janine filed a partial inventory and appraisal in December 2018 listing a 50 percent community property stake in five condominiums she and Ramsey owned and rented as landlords.
Janine's letters of administration expired in June 2019 pursuant to a local rule (Super. Ct. San Diego County, Local Rules, rule 4.8.1(A)). Three months after her letters of administration expired, Janine allowed her own creditor's claim, purporting to be the estate's personal representative. Her attached creditor's declaration claimed $281,867 from Ramsey's estate. Janine claimed that only after his death did she discover that Ramsey lived a double life, misappropriating her separate property assets.
This 2019 declaration contained several factual allegations that would later be used by the court to reject her U.S. residency. Janine explained that she married Ramsey in 2009 and lived in Carlsbad. Ramsey managed the couple's finances, although each maintained separate property assets from before their marriage. Ramsey wanted to retire in Mexico to live a quieter life, and the couple began searching for properties in Baja California Sur. Janine sold her separate property home in Carlsbad to facilitate their move. She purchased a home in Baja California Sur, Mexico using proceeds from the Carlsbad sale. Janine moved in October 2014 "and lived in that home full time." Over the next two years, Ramsey left her in Mexico alone for up to a month at a time while allegedly using proceeds from her Carlsbad residence "like his own personal bank account." All the while, Janine "was setting up the home in Baja, trusting that [her] ‘nest egg’ was safe." Janine referenced the couple's "condo rental business" in passing but did not mention any residence outside the one in Mexico.
The trial court approved Janine's creditor's claim for $281,867 in November. Ali moved to set that order aside, and the court granted her request in January 2020. It noted that Janine's letters of administration had expired when she purported to allow her own creditor's claim. Mistakenly believing Janine still had authority as administrator, the court erred in approving that claim. Compounding this error, Janine failed to serve notice of the hearing on Ali or any other heir, meaning the court allowed her creditor's claim without hearing from any heir or an authorized personal representative. The court cautioned Janine that her letters of administration had expired and that reissuance was "not a foregone conclusion."
After the set aside ruling, Janine filed a document captioned, "First Annual Report and Status of Administration; Request to Allow Ongoing Administration of this Estate; and Request for Extension of Letters of Administration." Janine explained that she needed additional time to determine the character of the five rental properties and identify other assets and personal property subject to probate. Acknowledging the delay, Janine explained that estate administration had revealed "financial misappropriations, concealed assets and questionable trusts, unknown creditors and income tax potential liability going as far back as 2009"—all of which "has made the administration challenging and time consuming." She hoped to render an accounting and conclude her administration within a year. Accordingly, she asked the court to extend her letters of administration through July 2021.
The hearing on Janine's request was repeatedly continued. Citing her shortcoming in estate administration, Ali asked the court not to reissue Janine's letters and instead appoint Ali as administrator. The parties appeared before Judge Scherling on June 11, 2021 on Janine's petition for reissued letters and Ali's competing petition for letters. Following an unreported hearing, the court requested supplemental briefing on the issue of Janine's residency.3 Pursuant to section 8402, subdivision (a)(4), only U.S. residents are competent to serve as personal representative of an estate unless named as executor in a will.
In her supplemental brief, Ali argued that residency was "synonymous with domicile" for purposes of the Probate Code. Although Ali had been under the impression that she lived in Bonsall, California, Janine informed the court at the June 11 hearing that she had never lived there and that the address provided was her brother's. Summarizing testimony offered at the June 11 hearing and Janine's past declarations, Ali maintained that Janine resided in Mexico and was statutorily barred from serving as estate administrator.
Citing taxation cases construing state residency, Janine reasoned that residency means the place a person is most closely connected to. She filed a declaration describing her many ties with the U.S. While she owned a home in Mexico, she was not a citizen there and had no intention of becoming a citizen or Mexican resident. She grew up in California; all her friends and both her children lived there, as did her extended family. She had a California driver's license, voted and paid income taxes in California and filed federal income taxes in the U.S. Her bank accounts were in San Diego, and she had not opened any accounts in Mexico. Her medical providers, accountant, and attorneys were all in California. Since 2016, Janine received mail solely through a P.O. Box in California and did not receive mail in Mexico. According to Janine, the only reason she stayed in Mexico was because she owned a house there free and clear where she could live inexpensively. Claiming Ramsey's actions placed her "in a state of financial limbo" since his death, she stated she would sell her home in Mexico and return to the U.S. as soon as the probate case ended.
Ali filed a responsive supplemental brief. She noted that Janine's September 2019 declaration supporting her creditor's claim confirmed her Mexico residency. It was only when faced with disqualification that Janine took the position that she resided in California. Ali argued that Janine's reliance on taxation cases was misplaced given case authority interpreting residency synonymously with domicile under the Probate Code. Whatever her California ties, Ali stressed that Janine had resided in her Mexico home since 2014 and only intended to return to California once probate proceedings ended.
The court considered the two motions together on August 9, 2021— Janine's request to continue as administrator and Ali's request to be appointed administrator.4 Before the hearing, the parties stipulated that both petitions could be resolved based on the declarations of record, with no new declarations filed. At the start of the hearing, the court delivered its tentative ruling removing Janine as administrator. The written tentative raised questions as to whether Janine had ever lived in Bonsall as she had claimed.
Arguing against the tentative, Janine highlighted her California ties. Although the couple planned to move to Mexico to retire, Ramsey never actually retired and lived a double life in San Diego. Janine planned to return after he died once the probate case concluded and never expected the case to go on for four years. According to Janine, the mere fact that she slept in Mexico more nights than she did in the U.S. did not change her place of residence. It was Janine's position that she had never left California. She maintained her bank accounts, investment property, and driver's license in California and intended to return as soon as the probate case ended. To the extent the court entertained doubts as to whether Janine had ever lived in Bonsall as indicated in prior filings, Janine could testify on that issue.
Ali's counsel urged the court to confirm its tentative ruling. She reasoned...
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