Williams v. Williams

• Decision Date: 20 July 1992
• Citation: 868 S.W.2d 616
• Parties: Lanny WILLIAMS, Individually, and as Co-Executor of the Estate of T.H. Williams, Respondent/Appellee, v. Alice WILLIAMS, Individually, and as Co-Executrix of the Estate of T.H. Williams, Petitioner/Appellant.
• Court: Tennessee Court of Appeals

Page 616

868 S.W.2d 616

Lanny WILLIAMS, Individually, and as Co-Executor of the Estate of T.H. Williams, Respondent/Appellee, v. Alice WILLIAMS, Individually, and as Co-Executrix of the Estate of T.H. Williams, Petitioner/Appellant.

Court of Appeals of Tennessee Western Section, at Jackson.

July 20, 1992.

Certiorari Denied by Supreme Court

Nov. 30, 1992.

Thomas E. Harwood, Trenton, for respondent, appellee.

Sam J. Watridge, Humboldt, for petitioner/appellant.

HIGHERS, Judge.

On May 24, 1990, the petitioner, Alice Williams, filed a petition in the Probate Court of Crockett County seeking to dissent from her deceased husband's will and to take an elective share as his surviving spouse under T.C.A. § 31-4-102. Lanny Williams, the decedent's son, filed an answer to the petitioner alleging that the petitioner was prohibited from seeking an elective share. The cause was heard on April 1, 1991, and the trial court, sitting without a jury, held in favor of the respondent, Lanny Williams, finding that Mrs. Williams was not a surviving spouse under T.C.A. § 31-4-102, and therefore she was not entitled to a surviving spouse's elective share of the estate of the decedent, her husband, T.H. Williams. The trial court also found that the petitioner was bound by the terms of an ante-nuptial agreement purportedly executed by the petitioner prior to her marriage to the decedent and therefore was only entitled to receive $5,000.00 in cash, a life estate in the main dwelling home of the parties and the three (3) acres surrounding the home which could be divested upon her remarriage, and any automobile owned by T.H. Williams at the time of his death. The court held that since the petitioner had heretofore drawn $8,274.66 in cash from the estate she would be required to reimburse the estate the sum of $3,274.66. The trial court also found that the wife, by filing her petition for an elective share, had violated an in terrorem clause contained in T.H. Williams' will and therefore was not entitled to take anything under the will. The wife has appealed.

Alice and T.H. Williams were married October 31, 1971, and remained married for eighteen years until his death on November 7, 1989. Mrs. Williams admits having signed an ante-nuptial contract with T.H. Williams three or four days prior to their marriage. She testified, however, that she did not remember the exact terms of this ante-nuptial contract and did not possess a copy of the contract. The respondent was also unable to produce a signed copy of the ante-nuptial contract but did offer to the court an unsigned copy of the document found in the files of J.B. Avery, Jr., a deceased attorney, whom the petitioner admitted drafted the ante-nuptial contract she signed. The unsigned copy of the contract proffered by the respondent provided that in the event the petitioner was living at the time of the husband's death, she would be entitled to the sum of $5,000.00 in cash to be paid by the estate of the husband. The contract further provided that the husband may pay the $5,000.00 during his lifetime, and if such payment is made, the estate shall be relieved from making the payment. Also under the contract, if the wife was living at the time of the husband's death, she would be entitled to the main dwelling home of the parties and the three (3) surrounding acres during the term of her life or until her remarriage, whichever occurred first. Additionally, the contract provided that the wife could have any automobile which the husband owned at the time of his death.

The unsigned copy of the ante-nuptial contract proffered by the respondent also provides that the petitioner agreed to accept the sum of $5,000.00 and the other property enumerated in the ante-nuptial agreement in full settlement of all her rights in the estate of the husband, including homestead, dower, year's support, exempt property, and any other rights in his estate arising by virtue of their marriage. The contract also states that if, after the marriage, the parties find it impossible or impracticable to live together as man and wife, "the wife shall have no claim of any kind against the husband on that account in excess of $2,000.00, including but not limited to alimony, support, maintenance, or any other right arising by virtue of their marriage." The contract finally provides that each of the parties received independent legal advice prior to the execution of the agreement.

The wife testified that prior to signing the ante-nuptial agreement, she had never been advised by her husband or anyone else as to the extent of his holdings. The respondent put on no evidence to contradict this testimony by the wife except to show that the wife had lived in the same community with the husband most of her life and therefore should have been aware of the extent of his holdings.

In August of 1984, the decedent purchased a forty-six acre farm in Madison County and subsequently deeded a one-half undivided interest in this farm to the petitioner. The trial court found that this conveyance was a gift by the decedent to his wife and was not offered in settlement of the $5,000.00 she was to receive under the terms of the ante-nuptial agreement.

On November 1, 1989, the decedent, while hospitalized for cancer, dictated a will to his son, the respondent. This will was then executed by the decedent and two witnesses. The will named the respondent and the petitioner as co-executors of the decedent's estate. Under the will, the wife was to receive essentially the same amount of property as under the ante-nuptial agreement with the respondent receiving the remainder and residue of the decedent's estate. The will also contained a forfeiture or in terrorem clause which provided that if the parties attempted to contradict any part of the will, they would lose 100% of any benefits enuring to them under the will.

T.H. Williams died on November 7, 1989. On November 22, 1989, the petitioner and respondent jointly filed a petition in the Probate Court of Crockett County seeking to have the November 1, 1989, will of T.H. Williams admitted to probate. On November 22, 1989, the Probate Court entered an order naming both Lanny and Alice Williams as co-administrators, CTA, and admitting the will to probate.

On May 24, 1990, the petitioner filed her petition for an elective share in the Probate Court. Lanny Williams, individually, and as co-executor of T.H. Williams' estate, filed an answer and counter-complaint which claimed that Alice Williams did not have a right to claim an elective share of T.H. Williams' estate since she was not a surviving spouse as contemplated by T.C.A. § 31-4-102 because of the ante-nuptial agreement allegedly entered into between her and T.H. Williams prior to their marriage. The respondent also contended that the petitioner was not entitled to receive anything under the will because her petition for an elective share violated the in terrorem clause contained in the will.

The trial court found that the unsigned ante-nuptial contract proffered by the respondent was the same contract entered into between T.H. and Alice Williams prior to their marriage and that this ante-nuptial contract was valid under the laws of this state. The trial court further found that because the ante-nuptial contract was valid, the petitioner was not entitled to an elective share under T.C.A. § 31-4-102. Finally, the trial court found that Alice Williams' petition for an elective share was a "contest" to the will which negated any interest she may have received from T.H. Williams under the will because of the in terrorem clause. The court held that since Alice Williams had heretofore drawn $8,274.66 in cash from T.H. Williams' estate, she should be required to reimburse the estate the sum of $3,274.66, the difference between the amount she has drawn from the estate and the $5,000.00 she was entitled to under the ante-nuptial agreement.

The petitioner argues on appeal that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence as a true copy, under the then-effective lost documents statutes, the unsigned ante-nuptial agreement found in the files of J.B. Avery, Jr., the deceased attorney who prepared the agreement for T.H. Williams. We find that it is not necessary for us to address the issue of whether the trial court erred in admitting this document into evidence since we find that, the ante-nuptial agreement proffered by the respondent, even if properly admitted, is not binding on the petitioner. Accordingly, the petitioner's argument with regard to the trial court's decision to admit this document into evidence is pretermitted.

T.C.A. § 36-3-501 specifically states that...