In re Estate of Rohrbaugh

80 Va. Cir. 253, 2010 Va. Cir. LEXIS 57
CourtFairfax County Circuit Court
DecidedMarch 31, 2010
DocketCase Nos. FI 2002-68397, CL 2009-16701
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 80 Va. Cir. 253 (In re Estate of Rohrbaugh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Fairfax County Circuit Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Estate of Rohrbaugh, 80 Va. Cir. 253, 2010 Va. Cir. LEXIS 57 (Va. Super. Ct. 2010).

Opinion

By Judge Stanley P. Klein

The parties came before the Court on December 4, 2009, and March 11, 2010, on remand from the Supreme Court of Virginia, which set aside this Court’s previous order on the ground that the evidence in the record did not support the decision. Upon remand, the parties stipulated that the Estate of Dorsey W. Rohrbaugh and its Executors’ previous Motion to Construe Will, filed in this Court on April 8, 2005, shall provide the mechanism through which they would jointly seek a judicial determination of the remaining issues involved in this case. The issue before this Court is whether Mrs. Rohrbaugh, by filing and pursuing two previous lawsuits against the Estate of Dorsey W. Rohrbaugh (“Estate”), invoked the no-contest provision of Dorsey W. Rohrbaugh’s (“Mr. Rohrbaugh”) will in light of all the factual circumstances of this case, including her intent in bringing the previous lawsuits. The Court has fully considered the applicable governing authorities, the relevant evidence, and the arguments presented both orally and in writing.. For the reasons set forth herein, the Court now holds that Mrs. Rohrbaugh invoked the no-contest clause of Mr. Rohrbaugh’s will and is, therefore, entitled to only $100.00 pursuant to that clause.

[254]*254 I. Background

The findings of fact herein are based on the parties’ Joint Stipulation filed December 23, 2009, which provides that the Court shall admit into evidence, for the purpose of Ms. Rohrbaugh’s Motion to Construe Will, Exhibits 1 through 25 submitted by Mrs. Rohrbaugh, and Exhibits A through M submitted by the Executors and the Estate. The Joint Stipulation further provides that the Court shall take judicial notice of this Court’s files in the cases of Geanie L. Rohrbaugh v. Terry R. Rohrbaugh et al., Chancery No. 179251, and Geanie L. Rohrbaugh v. Terry R. Rohrbaugh et al., Law No. 226919. The admitted evidence includes, but is not limited to Last Will and Testament of Mr. Rohrbaugh, dated January 3, 1994 (Exhibits 3 and G); Antenuptial Agreement dated April 9, 1974 (Exhibits 2 and A); Bill of Complaint filed July 11, 2002 (Exhibits 1 and C); Motion for Judgment filed November 5, 2004 (Exhibits 13 and E); and Transcript of Proceedings before the Hon. Jane Marum Roush, heard October 26, 2005 (Exhibit J).

Mr. and Mrs. Rohrbaugh married on April 18, 1974, and Mr. Rohrbaugh passed away on January 12, 2002. Since Mr. Rohrbaugh’s death, his two sons from a previous marriage, Terry R. Rohrbaugh (“Terry Rohrbaugh”) and Dorsey A. Rohrbaugh (“Sonny Rohrbaugh”) have served as executors of the Estate (collectively, the “Executors”). Mrs. Rohrbaugh, Terry Rohrbaugh, Sonny Rohrbaugh, and Mr. Rohrbaugh’s two daughters, also from a previous marriage, are the principal beneficiaries of the Last Will and Testament of Dorsey W. Rohrbaugh, dated January 3, 1994 (“Will”).

Mr. Rohrbaugh’s Will was admitted to probate on January 22, 2002. According to an Inventory filed by the Executors on May 15, 2002, the Estate had a value of approximately $2,127,000.00. The litigation surrounding the administration of the Estate has included two separate lawsuits, the present adversary probate proceeding, and multiple appeals and cross-appeals to the Supreme Court of Virginia. The resolution of the present proceeding and Motion to Construe Will, filed by the Executors and Estate, requires an evaluation of an antenuptial agreement, the Will, and the two lawsuits.

A. Antenuptial Agreement

Before their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Rohrbaugh executed an antenuptial agreement dated April 9, 1974 (“Antenuptial Agreement”). [255]*255Before signing the agreement, Mrs. Rohrbaugh alleges that Mr. Rohrbaugh and his attorney, who drafted the agreement, assured her that all after-acquired properly would be “theirs.” The Antenuptial Agreement contains the following pertinent provisions:

2. ... Geanie L. Lyons agrees ... that her claim upon the estate of Dorsey W. Rohrbaugh shall be limited only to such property which is not enumerated and not set forth on Schedule “A” attached. ... [A]ll property, real, personal or mixed which the parties may accumulate after the marriage, singly or together over and above the estate set forth in Schedule “A” ... shall be in full payment for all claims and demands of every kind and character which the said Geanie L. Lyons shall be entitled to as the wife or widow of said Dorsey W. Rohrbaugh against his said estate. This later interest in such estate to be [sic] a satisfaction of all claims for dower, statutory right, right of support, right of inheritance, and homestead right, and every claim of every kind or character....
6. It is specifically acknowledged and agreed by Geanie L. Lyons that any and all property which is or may be acquired or purchased with the proceeds of any sale, pay-off, or exchange of the property or assets set forth, in the Schedule “A” attached, shall ... become a part of such schedule ... free from any claim or demand which she could or may have against the estate of Dorsey W. Rohrbaugh.
7. Each of the parties waives and releases any rights as surviving spouse to elect to take against the other’s will.

Schedule A, appended to the Antenuptial Agreement and initialed by Mr. and Mrs. Rohrbaugh, lists various items of real and personal property, including a house and lot located at 1304 and 1306 East Muriel Street, Orlando, Florida (“Orlando Property”). In addition to placing their initials at the bottom of Appendix A, which consists of one page, Mr. and Mrs. Rohrbaugh also specifically initialed the space next to the description of the Orlando Property, with an arrow connecting their initials and that description. Mr. and Mrs. Rohrbaugh thus agreed that (1) in satisfaction of any other claim she may have against the Estate, Mrs. Rohrbaugh could not claim any interest in properly set forth in Schedule A (including the Orlando Property), or after-acquired properly purchased with the proceeds [256]*256of any sale of property enumerated in Schedule A; and (2) they mutually waived their statutory rights of election.

B. Will

Under Paragraph 3 of the Will, Mr. Rohrbaugh devised his right, title, and interest in the Orlando Property to Mrs. Rohrbaugh. Under the same Paragraph, he also transferred the marital home at 725 Springvale Road, Great Falls, Virginia (“Great Falls Property”), or the net proceeds from the sale of such property, to a “Q-TIP Trust” for the benefit of Mrs. Rohrbaugh during her lifetime. In Paragraph 3.2 of the Will, Mr. Rohrbaugh devised to Terry and Sonny Rohrbaugh, as the Trustees named in Paragraph 12 (“Trustees”), his right, title, and interest in the Great Falls Property, or the net proceeds from the sale of such property if sold by the Estate, to hold in trust subject to the terms and conditions of Paragraph 6. Paragraph 6, which provides for the administration and termination of a Marital Deduction/Q-TIP Trust, directs the Trustees to “hold, manage, invest, and reinvest the principal of [the] trust ... collect the income therefrom, and ... pay all such net income to or for the benefit of [Mrs. Rohrbaugh] during her lifetime.” This provision also granted the Trustees “sole and absolute discretion” to distribute to Mrs. Rohrbaugh up to $7,500 of the trust principal per year.

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Bluebook (online)
80 Va. Cir. 253, 2010 Va. Cir. LEXIS 57, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-rohrbaugh-vaccfairfax-2010.