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attorneywillpower of attorney
attorneymotionsummary judgmentwillpower of attorneymotion for summary judgment

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In re Estate of Anton, 731 N.W.2d 19

Facts

Hestor Mary Lewis Anton executed a will in 1981 bequeathing half of her interest in a duplex to her stepdaughter, Gretchen, and the other half to her biological son, Robert. After a serious accident, Mary became reliant on her daughter Nancy to manage her financial affairs through a durable power of attorney. In 2003, Nancy sold the duplex without informing Mary, who was suffering from dementia. After Mary's death, Gretchen claimed her bequest, but Nancy disallowed it, leading to a legal dispute over whether the sale constituted ademption.

In 1981, Mary executed a will. In the will, she bequeathed half of her interest in the duplex to Gretchen. The remaining half interest was bequeathed to her biological son, Robert Lewis. Shortly after the accident, Mary executed a durable power of attorney authorizing her daughter Nancy to manage her financial affairs. Nancy, acting as attorney-in-fact, began selling her mother's assets in order to pay her ongoing living expenses. By 2003, the only asset remaining in Mary's estate was the duplex.

Issue

Did the sale of the duplex by the attorney-in-fact result in the ademption of the specific bequest in the testator's will?

Did the sale of the duplex by the attorney-in-fact result in the ademption of the specific bequest in the testator's will?

Rule

The doctrine of ademption by extinction applies when a specifically bequeathed property is no longer part of the estate at the time of the testator's death. However, ademption does not occur if the removal of the property was involuntary to the testator.

The doctrine of ademption by extinction has been developed to address some of the difficulties that arise under these circumstances. Ademption generally means 'a taking away,' and, in the context of the law of wills, refers to the removal or elimination of a specific bequest prior to the time of death.

Analysis

The court analyzed whether Mary was competent at the time of the sale and whether she had knowledge of the transaction. It concluded that even if Mary was incompetent, the sale did not result in ademption because she was not aware of the sale and had not had the opportunity to change her will. The court emphasized that the focus should be on the testator's intent and whether she had the chance to revise her will after the sale.

The rationale of Bierstedt, however, is that ademption does not occur when specifically devised property is sold as a result of acts that are involuntary to the testator. The rationale of our cases is that ademption occurs where a testator had knowledge of a transaction involving a specific devise, realizes the effect of the transaction on his or her estate plan, and has an opportunity to revise the will.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court held that the sale of the duplex did not cause ademption, and thus Gretchen was entitled to recover a portion of the proceeds from the sale.

For the reasons expressed above, we hold that under the facts and circumstances of this case, the sale of the duplex did not cause ademption to the extent that there were specifically identifiable proceeds in the estate at the time of death.

Who won?

Gretchen Coy prevailed in the case because the Supreme Court found that the sale of the duplex did not result in ademption, allowing her to claim her specific bequest.

Gretchen countered the motion for summary judgment by asserting that there was a question of fact regarding Mary's intention in connection with the sale of the duplex.

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