Barefoot v. Jennings

237 Cal. Rptr. 3d 750, 27 Cal. App. 5th 1
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedAugust 14, 2018
DocketF076395
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 237 Cal. Rptr. 3d 750 (Barefoot v. Jennings) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barefoot v. Jennings, 237 Cal. Rptr. 3d 750, 27 Cal. App. 5th 1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

HILL, P.J.

Appellant Joan Mauri Barefoot appeals following the trial court's decision to dismiss her petition under Probate Code section 172001 to, among other things, set aside the 17th through 24th amendments and declare effective the 16th amendment to the Maynord 1986 Family Trust (Trust). The trial court dismissed the petition on standing grounds. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

According to the petition, appellant is one of six children of Joan Lee Maynord. Maynord and her former husband, who *752died in 1993, established the Trust in 1986 and Maynord served as the sole trustor following her husband's death. Respondents are two more of Maynord's children, with Shana Wren serving as the current trustee of the Trust. The remaining three children, one of whom predeceased Maynord, are not a part of this litigation.

In or around August 2013 and continuing through 2016, Maynord executed a series of eight amendments to and restatements of the Trust, referred to as the 17th through the 24th amendments. The 24th amendment was the final amendment prior to Maynord's death. In these amendments and restatements, appellant's share of the Trust, as set out in the 16th amendment, was eliminated and appellant was both expressly disinherited and removed as a successor trustee. At the same time Wren was provided with a large share of the Trust and named successor trustee.

Appellant's petition challenged the validity of these amendments on three grounds. In the first, appellant alleged Maynord was "not of sound and disposing mind" and thus lacked the "requisite mental capacity to amend the Trust." In the second, appellant alleged undue influence on behalf of respondents and included a lengthy factual recitation of the family dispute she believed led to her disinheritance. In the third, appellant alleged fraud on behalf of respondents, relying on similar facts as in the second ground. Appellant further attached the 16th and 24th amendments.

With respect to her standing to file the petition, appellant alleged she was "a person interested in both the devolution of [Maynord's] estate and the proper administration of the Trust because [appellant] is [Maynord's] daughter and both the trustee and a beneficiary of the Trust before the purported amendments. She will benefit by a judicial determination that the purported amendments are invalid, thereby causing the Trust property to be distributed according to the terms of the Trust that existed before the invalid purported amendments."

Respondents filed an answer to appellant's petition and followed that with a motion to dismiss pursuant to sections 17200 and 17202. As part of their motion, respondents argued appellant lacked standing under section 17200 because she was neither a beneficiary nor a trustee of the Trust as constituted under the 24th amendment. Appellant opposed the motion by arguing she was a beneficiary under the 16th amendment and alleging that later versions of the Trust were invalid. The trial court ultimately sided with respondents and dismissed appellant's petition without prejudice. Appellant responded by seeking reconsideration of the ruling and attaching a proposed amended petition including additional facts relevant to her claims the later amendments were invalid and additional grounds for setting aside the amendments. The trial court denied appellant's request and this appeal timely followed.

DISCUSSION

Standard of Review and Applicable Law

Section 17200, subdivision (a) provides, "Except as provided in Section 15800, a trustee or beneficiary of a trust may petition the court under this chapter concerning the internal affairs of the trust or to determine the existence of the trust." Under section 24, subdivision (c), a beneficiary of a trust is "a person to whom a donative transfer of property is made" and "who has any present or future interest, vested or contingent."

"Property transferred into a revocable inter vivos trust is considered the property of the settlor for the settlor's lifetime. Accordingly, the beneficiaries' interest *753in that property is ' "merely potential" and can "evaporate in a moment at the whim of the [settlor]." ' " ( Estate of Giraldin (2012) 55 Cal.4th 1058, 1065-1066, 150 Cal.Rptr.3d 205, 290 P.3d 199.) Unless expressly made irrevocable, trusts are revocable by the settlor by compliance with any method of revocation provided in the trust or by a writing signed by the settlor and delivered to the trustee during the lifetime of the settlor, among others. (§§ 15400, 15401.)

We review issues of standing, particularly those dependent upon a statutory authority to sue, de novo. ( Babbitt v. Superior Court (2016) 246 Cal.App.4th 1135, 1143, 201 Cal.Rptr.3d 353.)

Appellant Lacks Standing Under Section 17200

Appellant's petition alleges standing exists because she was a beneficiary and trustee of a prior version of the Trust. We conclude this basis is insufficient to support a petition under section 17200.

In interpreting the statute, we " ' "begin with the plain language of the statute, affording the words of the provision their ordinary and usual meaning and viewing them in their statutory context, because the language employed in the Legislature's enactment generally is the most reliable indicator of legislative intent." [Citations.] The plain meaning controls if there is no ambiguity in the statutory language.' [Citation.] In interpreting a statutory provision, 'our task is to select the construction that comports most closely with the Legislature's apparent intent, with a view to promoting rather than defeating the statutes' general purpose, and to avoid a construction that would lead to unreasonable, impractical, or arbitrary results.' " ( Poole v. Orange County Fire Authority (2015) 61 Cal.4th 1378, 1384-1385, 191 Cal.Rptr.3d 551, 354 P.3d 346.)

The plain language of section 17200 makes clear that only a beneficiary or trustee of a trust can file a petition under section 17200. A beneficiary is further defined by statute as one that receives a present or future interest, whether vested or contingent, through a donative transfer from the trust.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
237 Cal. Rptr. 3d 750, 27 Cal. App. 5th 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barefoot-v-jennings-calctapp5d-2018.