In Re the Estate of ELLIOT GOLDMAN

158 P.3d 892, 215 Ariz. 169, 505 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 9, 2007 Ariz. App. LEXIS 88
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMay 30, 2007
Docket2 CA-CV 2006-0138
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 158 P.3d 892 (In Re the Estate of ELLIOT GOLDMAN) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re the Estate of ELLIOT GOLDMAN, 158 P.3d 892, 215 Ariz. 169, 505 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 9, 2007 Ariz. App. LEXIS 88 (Ark. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

PELANDER, Chief Judge.

¶ 1 In this probate action, appellant Jay Goldman, personal representative (PR) of the Estate of Elliot Goldman, appeals from a summary judgment entered in favor of appel-lee, the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona. Jay argues that, because the estate asset value at Elliot’s death was insufficient to pay a devise to the Foundation and “date of death values are considered in determining whether abatement occurs,” the devise to the Foundation abated, and the trial court erred in concluding otherwise. We disagree and, therefore, affirm the judgment.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 Although the pertinent facts apparently are undisputed, on appeal from a summary judgment, “we view all facts and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment was entered.” Bothell v. Two Point Acres, Inc., 192 Ariz. 313, ¶ 2, 965 P.2d 47, 49 (App. 1998). Elliot Goldman died in December 1995, and his brother, Jay Goldman, was appointed PR of the estate. In its first article, Elliot’s will provided that “all expenses of [his] last illness and funeral, costs of administration ... and estate and inheritance taxes” were to be paid “from the residue of [his] estate.” Article four of the will created trusts for each of Elliot’s two children with the value of each trust “not [to] exceed $900,000,” including any life insurance proceeds. In that same article, as amended by a subsequent codicil, Elliot also made several “specific bequests,” including $250,000 and the marital residence to his wife; $25,000 to his cousin; $20,000 to his business manager; and $300,000 to Jay.

¶ 3 In the will’s fifth article, Elliot made devises to several charitable organizations, to be made “[a]fter payment of expenses, costs and other items under [the first article] and the distribution provided in [the fourth] Article.” Those devises provided $10,000 to the Community Food Bank of Tucson; $25,000 to Jewish Family Service of Tucson; $15,000 to the Congregation Chofetz Chayim; and $50,000 to the Foundation. That article further provided: “[I]n the event there are insufficient assets to pay the [fifth article] specific bequests, then the assets on hand shall be first used to pay [Elliot’s wife] ... to the extent possible, and any remaining assets shall be used to pay the [remaining] specific bequests ... on a pro rata basis.” Any residue of the estate was to go to the children’s trusts.

¶ 4 Jay valued the estate’s assets as of the date of Elliot’s death at $2,732,733, consisting of $2,676,690 originally reported in the estate’s “Beginning Inventory” plus another $56,043 Jay subsequently discovered. Jay averred that the children’s trusts received $521,147 in insurance proceeds and that the fourth article bequests ultimately totaled $2,023,853. Jay also averred that the first article payments — including estate debt, funeral and administration expenses, and estate taxes — totaled $1,535,642. Thus, the first and fourth article payments, which the will directed to be made before the fifth article devises, exhausted the estate’s assets as originally valued.

¶ 5 In 2003, the estate’s real property was appraised again, and an increase in its value resulted in an estate balance of $1,844,650.64 in November 2004. From Elliot’s death to November 2004, Jay made payments to all of the fifth article devisees other than the Foundation, presumably at least in part from this increase. Jewish Family Service received $25,000; .the Congregation Chofetz Chayim received $16,000 ($1,000 more than Elliot devised to it); and the Community Food Bank received $10,000. Jay also made payments to himself and to Elliot’s wife that exceeded the amounts left to them in the *171 will’s fourth article. But he did not pay the Foundation’s devise.

¶ 6 Jay averred he initially did not pay that devise “due to [his] concerns about the ability of the Foundation to accomplish the goals [Elliot had] intended.” The $50,000 Elliot had left to the Foundation was, in Jay’s opinion, “not sufficient to permanently endow an annual trip to Israel” as Elliot had intended. Therefore, after offering to combine the devise with a gift from his parents to establish a fund that would be shared with another office of the Foundation, Jay finally offered to pay the Foundation $25,000. The Foundation rejected those offers and asked for an accounting of the estate. Shortly thereafter, in August 2004, the Foundation petitioned the probate court for an order to show cause seeking payment of the $50,000 devise to it.

¶ 7 The court ordered Jay “to show cause ... why the devise of $50,000 due to [the Foundation], together with interest,” should not be paid and to produce an accounting, which Jay provided in January 2005. After hearing oral argument on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment, the probate court concluded the devise to the Foundation had not abated and granted summary judgment in favor of the Foundation. In so ruling, the court stated “Arizona law governing abatement of devises under a will is applied to the value of the estate at the time of distributions, not to the value of the estate as determined at date of death or as reported on a Federal estate tax return.” Accordingly, the court ordered Jay to pay the Foundation $50,000 “with interest at the legal rate of 10% from January 22,1997 until paid in full.” This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

¶ 8 Jay contends “[d]ate of death values are considered in determining whether abatement occurs.” Because the first and fourth article bequests exhausted the estate asset value at the time of Elliot’s death, Jay argues, the fifth article devises abated. According to Jay, “[a]ny post death appreciation would benefit the creditors and the unabated beneficiaries,” and “[t]here is no legal basis for claiming an abated beneficiary interest is somehow resurrected because probate assets later appreciate in value.” Thus, he maintains, “the trial court erred in concluding as a matter of law that date of distribution and not date of death values are considered in determining whether abatement applies.”

¶ 9 “On appeal from a summary judgment, we must determine de novo whether there are any genuine issues of material fact and whether the trial court erred in applying the law.” Bothell, 192 Ariz. 313, ¶ 8, 965 P.2d at 50. We also review de novo “issues involving statutory interpretation.” Id.

¶ 10 “ ‘Abatement’ is the reduction of testamentary legacies because estate assets are insufficient to pay debts and other legacies.” In re Estate of Mason, 190 Ariz. 312, 314 n. 3, 947 P.2d 886, 888 n. 3 (App.1997), citing Thomas E. Atkinson, Law of Wills § 136 (2d ed.1953). Under A.R.S. § 14-3902(A), “shares of distributees abate ... in the following order:” (1) “Property not disposed of by the will,” (2) “Residuary devises,” (3) “General devises,” (4) “Specific devises.” With the exception of the residence willed to Elliot’s wife, the devises at issue here are all general devises. See Atkinson, supra,

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Bluebook (online)
158 P.3d 892, 215 Ariz. 169, 505 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 9, 2007 Ariz. App. LEXIS 88, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-estate-of-elliot-goldman-arizctapp-2007.