In Re Estate of Sheridan

117 P.3d 39, 2004 Colo. App. LEXIS 1894, 2004 WL 2503558
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 21, 2004
DocketNo. 03CA0906
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 117 P.3d 39 (In Re Estate of Sheridan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals 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 Sheridan, 117 P.3d 39, 2004 Colo. App. LEXIS 1894, 2004 WL 2503558 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

RUSSEL, J.

In this estate proceeding, M. Sue Jarrett appeals the district court’s order dismissing her claims against the estate of her father, Charlie D. Sheridan (decedent). We affirm.

I. Background

Decedent died on November 5, 2001. As personal representative of the estate, Jarrett placed a notice in the local newspaper informing creditors of the deadline for presenting claims against the estate. The notice stated that creditors had until March 28, 2002, to present their claims.

On November 1, 2002, Jarrett filed two claims as a creditor of the estate. Joyce Sheridan, an heir of decedent, objected to Jarrett’s claims on the grounds that they were untimely. In January 2003, the district court issued an order dismissing Jarrett’s claims.

Jarrett then filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that her claims had been timely presented. She supported her argument, in part, by relying on “newly discovered evidence.” The district court did not rule on Jarrett’s motion within sixty days; the motion was therefore deemed denied under C.R.C.P. 59(j). Jarrett then filed a timely notice of appeal with this court.

Shortly after the notice of appeal was filed, the district court granted Jarrett’s motion for reconsideration. Jarrett then asked this court to stay her appeal and remand for further proceedings in the district court. A motions panel of this court denied Jarrett’s request, noting that the district court lacked jurisdiction to rule on a post-trial motion under C.R.C.P. 59 after sixty days.

A. Statement of Issues

This case involves two related questions:

1. What is the deadline for presenting claims against an estate by a known creditor who does not receive written notice from the personal representative but has actual knowledge of the deadline contained in a published notice?
2. When the personal representative has actual knowledge of a creditor’s claims, must the creditor nevertheless satisfy the statutory requirements for presentation of claims?

In answering these questions, we are required to account for the fact that Jarrett is both the creditor and the personal representative of the estate.

B. Overview of Statutes

Our analysis involves the interplay of three related statutes:

1. Section 15-12-801, C.R.S.2004, governs notice to creditors. This statute requires the personal representative to publish a notice stating the deadline by which creditors must present their [41]*41claims. It also permits the personal representative to provide written notice to creditors.
2. Section 15-12-803, C.R.S.2004, sets forth the deadlines that creditors must meet to present their claims against an estate. The general deadline is one year from the decedent’s death, but earlier deadlines may be triggered by published or written notice.
3. Section 15-12-804, C.R.S.2004, sets forth three ways in which a claimant may present his or her claims: (1) deliver or mail a written statement of the claim to the personal representative; (2) file a written statement with the clerk of court; or (3) commence legal proceedings against the personal representative.

II. Applicable Deadline

We first determine the date by which Jarrett was required to present her claims. This is a mixed question of fact and law. Because the pertinent facts are undisputed, and the question will be resolved as a matter of law, we review the trial court’s ruling de novo. See E-470 Pub. Highway Auth. v. 455 Co., 3 P.3d 18, 22 (Colo.2000) (reviewing court may conclude that mixed question of fact and law demands de novo review).

The parties agree that Jarrett did not send to herself, or any other creditor, a written notice that would trigger an early deadline under § 15-12-803(l)(a)(II), C.R.S.2004. We are thus required to choose one of two possible deadlines: (1) the early deadline contained in the published notice to creditors (March 28, 2002), under § 15-12-803(a)(l)(I), C.R.S.2004; or (2) one year from the death of decedent (November 5, 2002), under § 15-12-803(l)(a)(III), C.R.S.2004.

The district court ruled that Jarrett was required to present her claims by the deadline contained in the published notice. Jarrett contends that she was not required to meet this deadline because she is not one of the “creditors barred by publication,” within the meaning of § 15-12-803(l)(a)(I). In Jarrett’s view, only unknown creditors can be barred by publication. For support, she relies on Tulsa Professional Collection Services, Inc. v. Pope, 485 U.S. 478, 108 S.Ct. 1340, 99 L.Ed.2d 565 (1988), and Estate of Russo v. Sunrise Healthcare Corp., 994 P.2d 491 (Colo.App.1999).

We disagree with Jarrett’s view of these cases.

In Pope, a claimant sought to be excused from a two-month deadline that was contained in a published notice to creditors. The Court held that, as a matter of due process, creditors who are known or reasonably ascertainable by the estate cannot be required to meet an early deadline unless they are given “[n]otiee by mail or other means as certain to ensure actual notice.” Pope, supra, 485 U.S. at 491, 108 S.Ct. at 1348 (quoting Mennonite Bd. of Missions v. Adams, 462 U.S. 791, 800, 103 S.Ct. 2706, 2712, 77 L.Ed.2d 180 (1983)).

In Estate of Russo, a division of this court analyzed Colorado’s probate statutes under the principles announced in Pope. The division determined that due process governs the enforcement of early deadlines under § 15-12-803(l)(a). Accordingly, the division held that a known or reasonably ascertainable creditor may be required to meet an early deadline only if the creditor receives actual notice of that deadline. Estate of Russo, supra, 994 P.2d at 494.

Unlike the claimants in Pope and Estate of Russo, Jarrett had actual notice of the deadline contained in the published notice to creditors. Jarrett knew the contents of the notice because she, as personal representative, caused the notice to be published in the local newspaper. Thus, the due process concerns underlying Pope and Russo are not implicated here, and the issue must be resolved solely by operation of statute.

We conclude that Colorado’s probate statutes do not exempt Jarrett from the deadline contained in the published notice merely because she was known to the estate. Under Colorado’s scheme, a known or reasonably ascertainable creditor must present claims by the published deadline if the creditor has actual knowledge of that deadline.

Our conclusion is supported by two observations.

[42]*42First, the pertinent statutes do not distinguish between known and unknown creditors. A notice that is published in compliance with § 15-12-801 applies, on its face, to all creditors:

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Related

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57 V.I. 416 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2012)
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
117 P.3d 39, 2004 Colo. App. LEXIS 1894, 2004 WL 2503558, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-sheridan-coloctapp-2004.