Kutchinski v. Strazzante

993 N.E.2d 291, 2013 WL 4603370
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 29, 2013
DocketNo. 45A03-1206-TR-296
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 993 N.E.2d 291 (Kutchinski v. Strazzante) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kutchinski v. Strazzante, 993 N.E.2d 291, 2013 WL 4603370 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

PYLE, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This appeal involves a family dispute between half-siblings — Robert Kutchinski (“Robert”), Sheila Graves flk/a Sheila Kutchinski (“Sheila”), John Kutchinski (“John”), Joseph Strazzante (“Joseph”), and Monty Strazzante (“Monty”) — over the revocable living trust (“the Trust”) created by their mother, Dorothy Rhoades (“Dorothy”). When Dorothy initially created the Trust in 2003, she included all her children as beneficiaries. In July 2010, eleven days before her death, Dorothy amended the Trust and other estate planning documents to exclude Robert as a beneficiary after Joseph contacted Dorothy’s attorney regarding changes to be made to the Trust.

After Dorothy’s death, Robert filed a petition to docket the Trust and to deter[293]*293mine the Trust’s beneficiaries, alleging that Dorothy lacked testamentary capacity and was under the undue influence of Joseph when she amended the Trust and other estate planning documents. Joseph and Monty filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that there were no genuine issues of material fact regarding testamentary capacity and undue influence and that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Robert, Sheila, and John filed a joint summary judgment response, arguing that there were genuine issues of material fact regarding whether Dorothy was of sound mind and under undue influence at the time she amended the Trust in July 2010. The trial court granted the summary judgment motion. Robert now appeals the trial court’s order granting Joseph and Monty’s motion for summary judgment.1

We reverse and remand.

ISSUES

1. Whether the trial court’s summary judgment order was a final, appeal-able order.
2. Whether the trial court erred by granting summary judgment to Joseph and Monty on the issues of testamentary capacity and undue influence.

FACTS

The facts considered in a light most favorable to Robert, the nonmoving party, follow. Dorothy had five children as a result of her first two marriages. On June 23, 2003, Dorothy executed the Trust, naming her natural born children — Robert, Sheila, John, Joseph, and Monty — as beneficiaries of the Trust.2 Dorothy named her third husband, Elmer Rhoades (“Elmer”), as trustee and named Joseph and Robert as successor co-trustees of the Trust.3

On January 23, 2010, Dorothy was hospitalized with a kidney failure and placed in the intensive care unit (“ICU”). While Dorothy was in the ICU, Joseph — on his own initiative — obtained a power of attorney form from the internet and sought to have Dorothy sign the power of attorney. On January 25, 2010, a hospital social worker, Carolyn Davis (“Davis”), was in Dorothy’s room when Joseph tried to have Dorothy sign the power of attorney form. Davis, believing that Dorothy was confused and not able to understand what she was signing, prevented Joseph from having Dorothy sign the form.

[294]*294The following day, on January 26, 2010, Joseph went back to the hospital and had Dorothy sign a power of attorney, naming him as the sole attorney-in-fact. Robert walked into Dorothy’s room and confronted Joseph about the form, but Joseph did not show Robert the form.

On January 28, 2010, Dorothy was moved from the ICU to a private room at the hospital. While Joseph and Robert were in Dorothy’s room, Joseph showed the power of attorney form to Robert, and they discussed it with Dorothy. Robert explained to Dorothy about the power of attorney form, and Dorothy apparently indicated that she wanted both Robert and Joseph to be joint attorneys-in-fact and to act together.

Thereafter, Robert contacted attorney Daniel Blaney (“Attorney Blaney”), who was a partner of Dorothy’s attorney who had retired. Subsequently, Attorney Bla-ney drafted an amended power of attorney and met with Dorothy, Robert, and Joseph at the hospital on February 4, 2010. Attorney Blaney talked to Dorothy about the amended power of attorney. Dorothy executed the amended power of attorney that named Robert and Joseph as joint attorneys-in-fact to make financial and personal decisions for her. The power of attorney became effective upon execution.

Around that same time, Dorothy also amended the Trust. The amendment to the Trust was also prepared by Attorney Blaney. Dorothy amended the Trust by naming Joseph and Robert as co-trustees of the Trust. Dorothy also “specifically omitted” Sheila as a beneficiary of the Trust. (App. 20). The Trust was signed by Dorothy as grantor and by Robert and Joseph as co-trustees. Additionally, Dorothy amended her beneficiary designations on her life insurance policies and excluded Sheila as a beneficiary, leaving the four sons as beneficiaries. Dorothy also amended her will to include a provision that provided for Sheila and John to each receive $5,000 for mental health care.

After Dorothy was released from the hospital, she had to get frequent dialysis treatments at her doctor’s office. Dorothy first lived with Monty from February 25, 2010 to March 18, 2010. While Dorothy lived with Monty, Robert helped take Dorothy to her dialysis treatments. On March 18, 2010, Robert took Dorothy to her dialysis treatment and later discovered that Monty had left Dorothy’s belongings on Monty’s front porch.

From March 18, 2010, to July 1, 2010, Dorothy lived at Robert’s house. While Dorothy lived at Robert’s house, she had a surgery to change the type of dialysis that she received. Her dialysis treatments were increased to a daily basis and then done at home instead of at the doctor’s office. The family was required to receive training to assist Dorothy with her dialysis. Dorothy’s doctor also had a family meeting with Dorothy’s children to explain that they needed to assist Robert in administering Dorothy’s dialysis. While Dorothy lived at Robert’s house, her primary medications were Tramadol and Xa-nax.

On July 1, 2010, Dorothy returned to her own home and was assisted by two healthcare providers, Wanda Kessler (“Caretaker Kessler”) and Edith Lucas (“Caretaker Lucas”), while at her home. From July 7 to July 12, 2010, Dorothy was hospitalized with abdominal pain. Upon Dorothy’s discharge from the hospital, she received prescriptions for Tramadol and Alprazolam and returned to her own home.

A few days later, Dorothy fell at her house and was again hospitalized. After her release from the hospital, Dorothy was taking the following medications: Tramadol, Hydrocodone, Xanax, Furosem-[295]*295ide, Prochlorperazine, and Exforge. Around this time, Dorothy stopped her dialysis, and Caretaker Kessler and Caretaker Lucas stopped providing healthcare to Dorothy. Monty then hired Anita Ray (“Caretaker Ray”) as Dorothy’s healthcare provider.

On July 26, 2010, Joseph went to visit Dorothy. Joseph had not seen Dorothy for a few months. Two days later, on July 28, 2010, Joseph contacted Attorney Bla-ney and told him that Dorothy wanted to amend the Trust, the power of attorney, and her will. Attorney Blaney prepared amendments to these documents and met with Dorothy at her house on July 29, 2010. Dorothy amended her power of attorney to remove Robert as an attorney-in-fact and to name Joseph as her sole attorney-in-fact with power to act for her in all financial and personal matters.

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993 N.E.2d 291, 2013 WL 4603370, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kutchinski-v-strazzante-indctapp-2013.