Estate Case Summaries
Iowa • Nebraska • South Dakota

Court finds "will" must clearly show intent to avoid Iowa statute. In his will, the decedent left his estate to his five siblings. One of the siblings died before the decedent, and the sibling left two children. When the decedent died, the children were not given their mother's share in the estate, and a judge eventually ruled the two children should have inherited their mother's share of the decedent's estate. The siblings appealed, and argued that the decedent intended the deceased sibling's share to lapse, resulting in the 4 remaining siblings inheriting the estate, with no share to the children. The Iowa Court of Appeals held that the decedent was presumed to know about Iowa's anti-lapse statute, and there was no evidence that the decedent intended the predeceased sibling's share to go to the other siblings. The language of a will must clearly show the intent to defeat the anti-lapse statute. In re Estate of Delmege, No. 07-2160 (Iowa Ct. of Appeals, October 29, 2008)

Debts abate from estate in accordance with Iowa statute unless decedent intends otherwise. In his will, the decedent left $100,000 to his daughters from his first marriage, and left the remainder of his estate to his wife-over $1 million. There was $240,000 in debt that needed to be paid from the estate. The wife argued the debt should be paid in accordance with the Iowa abatement statute, which would extinguish the gift to the daughters, and consequently, the wife would inherit the rest of the estate assets. The Court found that the decedent specifically intended that his daughters would receive a portion of his estate, and that the abatement statute was not applicable due to the decedent's clear intent. In re Estate of Wagner, No. 07-2033 (Iowa Ct. of Appeals, October 29, 2008)

Widow's waiver of interest in husband's estate is valid: The South Dakota Supreme Court determined that a widow validly waived her statutory interest in her husband's estate when she signed a trust document stating as much. Here, the husband was dying, and the couple met with an attorney to plan his estate. The husband told the attorney he wanted to leave his estate to his children from a first marriage, and allow the widow to live in the house until her death. The widow agreed with her husband's wishes. A trust was established, and the widow signed a document waiving her rights to claim part of his estate. Three years after the husband's death, she sued the trustee of her husband's estate, arguing that she had not understood the waiver she signed and was entitled to part of the estate. The Supreme Court held that although she had not obtained her own attorney with regard to the waiver, the widow had been aware that she had some rights in the estate, and that she voluntarily signed the waiver. Her testimony-that she was concerned with carrying out her husband's wishes and that she was not forced to sign the waiver-led the Court to hold that the waiver of rights should be enforced. In re Estate of Smid, 2008 S.D. 82, --- N.W.2d --- (2008).

Decedent's intent regarding "common disaster" clause will be upheld by South Dakota Supreme Court. A brother and sister were killed in the same car accident. The brother's will had left much of his estate to his sister; however, the will had a "common disaster" clause where if the sister died within thirty days of his death, she was deemed to have predeceased her brother. The sister's estate sued the brother's estate for wrongful death, arguing that the clause should not be enforced because a jury should determine whether the brother intended the clause to disinherit her when he caused her death. The trial court held that the sister did not have a vested interest in her brother's estate, and the clause was to be enforced. The Supreme Court upheld the trial court's decision, holding that the will expressly provided the sister survive the brother by thirty days, which did not occur in this case. Therefore, the sister could not prove a loss of prospective inheritance. The brother's intent in the will was clear, and the clause was applied. Olson v. Estate of Olson, 2008 SD 39.

South Dakota court does not alter terms of trust after 10 year delay. The decedent placed numerous tracts of lands into a revocable living trust, with each parcel designated for each of his children. The decedent's son was named Trustee. Upon the death of the decedent, the Trustee learned that an 80 acre tract of land he believed had been assigned to him was not so designated in the trust. Ten years later, the Trustee resigned and a bank was appointed as trustee. The Bank then petitioned to modify the terms of the trust, asserting the decedent had intended the tract to go to his son. The trial court held that the Bank's petition was barred by the statute of limitations. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court, holding that the Trustee had known of the omission in the trust for ten years and did not act. The other beneficiaries were prejudiced by his ten-year delay to modify the terms of the trust. Matter of C.H. Young Revocable Living Trust, 2008 SD 43.

Supreme Court allows handwritten amendment to will where testamentary intent is shown. The decedent left a handwritten note which stated she wanted to change a term in her will regarding a tract of land. The Supreme Court found that this handwritten note fulfilled the formality requirements for a holographic will in South Dakota, and that the decedent's testamentary intent and the testamentary character of the document were established by the factual circumstances-the decedent had told her family she wanted to change her will, she had made an appointment with an attorney before she died, she had previously created a holographic will. The trial court was wrong to not admit the note to probate as a holographic will. Estate of Serbousek, 2008 SD 46

Spousal Allowances in Iowa Estates: The decedent remarried after drafting his will, and he did not change his will to include his new wife prior to his death. She applied for a spousal allowance under Iowa Code 633.374. The executor of the estate resisted, saying that there was not enough money in the estate to fund the allowance. The court determined that the estate may look to the assets of a decedent's trust to fund the allowance. This is because a trust may be used to pay for the cost of administration of the estate, and a spousal allowance is a cost of administration. In re Estate of Sieh, 745 N.W.2d 477 (Iowa 2008).

Nebraska statutes set out procedure for removal of personal representative: Decedent's personal representative was removed and a special administrator was appointed after the county court determined that the personal representative failed to protect the estate's assets. The Supreme Court determined that statutory procedure was not followed prior to the removal, and the personal representative had not received proper notice of the petition to remove him. The argument that there was an "emergency" was not enough to warrant removal without following the procedure. In re Estate of Cooper, 275 Neb. 322 (2008).

Land cannot be sold by executor in certain situations: The South Dakota Supreme Court determined the executor did not have the power to sell specifically devised land where the will did not include a power of sale provision; thus the sale of the land was limited by the specific devise. The specific devise showed the testator's intent that the land should not be sold. Estate of Glenn E. Olson, 744 N.W. 2d 555 (S.D. 2008).

Charitable intent prevails in Iowa trust: A Storm Lake family created a trust with the City of Storm Lake, Iowa, to memorialize the death of their young grandson. The trust created a public garden, and was to be used for improvements to the garden over the years. The city decided to relocate the garden for a new development. The Supreme Court determined that, while the specific language of the trust did not anticipate relocation, the charitable intention of the family allowed the trust to be modified to allow the relocation. Kolb v. City of Storm Lake, (Iowa)

Will beneficiary entitled to proceeds from property: The decedent left a duplex to her step-daughter and son in her will. Her daughter was in charge of her financial assets. The daughter sold the duplex prior to the decedent's death in order to pay for medical expenses. The step-daughter sued the decedent's estate for half of the proceeds from the sale of the duplex. The Iowa Supreme Court determined that the step-daughter was entitled to some of the proceeds of the duplex because she would have inherited an interest in the property had it not been sold. However, she was only entitled to what was left over after paying the decedent's expenses prior to death. Coy v. Ezarski, (Iowa)

Trust settlor's intent important in Nebraska: Although settlor wrote a letter that unambiguously revoked her trust, the Supreme Court found courts can look at evidence of the settlor's intent. The court found her intent was to continue the trust despite the clear language of her letter, and allowed the trust to remain in effect despite her letter of revocation. In re Trust Created by Isvik, 274 Neb. 525 (Nebraska)

Lost will requires evidence of revocation:The Supreme Court did not allow a copy of a will to be admitted into probate where a diligent search did not find the original, and the beneficiary of the will could not show any credible evidence that the decedent had not revoked the will. The trial court is in the best position to determine if a witness is credible in these cases. Estate of Gustafson, 2007 S.D. 46 (South Dakota)

Conservator charged after breaching duty: A conservator was fined a surcharge after she breached her fiduciary duty to maintain her mother's financial accounts. The conservator accessed her mother's money without court authorization, and failed to file necessary reports required by the court. The conservator's self-dealing resulted in her receiving a larger than intended share of her mother's estate. The surcharge, based on the extent the conservator wrongfully benefited, was distributed to the other beneficiaries of the mother's estate. Conservatorship of Irwin, 2007 S.D. 41. (South Dakota)