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Keywords

attorneyappealtrust

statuteappealtrust

Related Cases

In re Estate of Chrisp, 276 Neb. 966, 759 N.W.2d 87

Facts

Gail A. Chrisp, the surviving spouse of Dean E. Chrisp, appealed a County Court order regarding the inclusion of premarital trust assets in the augmented estate for her elective share. Before marrying Gail, Chrisp transferred most of his assets into a revocable trust. After his death, Gail sought to have these trust assets included in the augmented estate, arguing that they should count towards her elective share. The County Court ruled that the trust assets were not included in the augmented estate, leading to Gail's appeal.

This is a dispute between Gail A. Chrisp, the surviving spouse of Dean E. Chrisp (Chrisp), and two of Chrisp's sons from his earlier marriage. The sons became the trustees of Chrisp's revocable trust after his death. Before his marriage to Gail, Chrisp had transferred the bulk of his assets to the trust.

Issue

Whether the assets from a premarital trust must be included in the augmented estate for calculating a surviving spouse's elective share.

This appeal presents the issue whether the assets from a premarital trust must be included in the augmented estate for calculating a surviving spouse's elective share.

Rule

Under Neb.Rev.Stat. § 30–2314 (Reissue 1995), only the decedent's transfers to others during the marriage are included in the augmented estate for calculating a surviving spouse's elective share.

Under Neb.Rev.Stat. § 30–2314 (Reissue 1995), a decedent's premarital transfers to a trust are excluded from the augmented estate.

Analysis

The court analyzed the statutory language of Neb.Rev.Stat. § 30–2314, which specifies that only transfers made during the marriage to the surviving spouse or for their benefit are included in the augmented estate. The court concluded that Chrisp's premarital transfers to his revocable trust did not meet this criterion, as they occurred before the marriage. The court also noted that the legislative history supported the exclusion of such transfers to protect the interests of children from prior marriages.

The court had reviewed the committee statements in the legislative history of Nebraska's augmented estate statute. It concluded that the Legislature had specifically drafted § 30–3850(a)(1) so that the assets of premarital trusts would not be included in the augmented estate.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the County Court's ruling that the premarital trust assets were not part of the augmented estate and that Gail was not entitled to attorney fees for her claim.

We hold that Chrisp's premarital transfers to his revocable trust were not part of the augmented estate for calculating Gail's elective share.

Who won?

The prevailing party was the trustees of Chrisp's revocable trust, as the court upheld the County Court's decision that the trust assets were not included in the augmented estate.

The court affirmed the County Court's ruling that the premarital trust assets were not part of the augmented estate.

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