Succession of Carroll

125 So. 3d 505, 2013 WL 5346302, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1949
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 25, 2013
DocketNo. 48,436-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 125 So. 3d 505 (Succession of Carroll) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Succession of Carroll, 125 So. 3d 505, 2013 WL 5346302, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1949 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

BROWN, Chief Judge.

| ¶ Agnes Wylonda Carroll died testate on January 3, 2008. She was survived by three adult children. Her testament des[506]*506ignated her daughter, Ethyl Joyce Cruse Hornsby, as executrix and as the universal legatee. The testament was probated on August 1, 2008. Plaintiffs, Donna Cruse Cagle and Thomas B. Cruse, Jr., who were decedent’s other two children, petitioned to annul and declare the testament to be invalid. As relates to this appeal, plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary judgment declaring them to be forced heirs of their mother. The trial court denied plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment. Specifically, the trial court determined that genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether either plaintiff was permanently incapable of caring for his/her person or administrating his/her estate at the time of decedent’s death. The trial court certified this judgment as a final judgment for appeal. For the reasons stated herein, we now affirm.

Facts and Procedural Background

In their petition, filed on November 20, 2008, plaintiffs/appellants, Donna Cagle and Thomas Cruse, Jr., sought to nullify the Agnes Carroll will and certain real estate transactions based on the following grounds: 1) Agnes Carroll was of unsound mind; 2) Agnes Carroll was acting under fraud, duress or mistake; and/or 3) Agnes Carroll lacked testamentary capacity.

In an amended petition, plaintiffs subsequently raised, among other claims, the issue that is central to this appeal, forced heirship. On September 19, 2012, plaintiffs filed the instant motion for partial summary | ¡judgment asking the trial court to recognize both of them as forced heirs of Agnes Carroll. Each claimed that they were permanently physically disabled. The trial court denied plaintiffs’ motion, finding that genuine issues of material fact exist regarding their claims of forced heir-ship.

Discussion

Article 12, § 5 of the Louisiana Constitution abolished forced heirship effective January 1, 1996, except that it provides in part that:

(B) The legislature shall provide for the classification of descendants, of the first degree, twenty-three years of age or younger as forced heirs. The legislature may also classify as forced heirs descendants of any age who, because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity, are incapable of taking care of their persons or administering their estates. The amount of the forced portion reserved to heirs and the grounds for disinherison shall also be provided by law. Trusts may be authorized by law and the forced portion may be placed in trust.

The legislature enacted La. C.C. art. 1493, which provides in part that:

(A) Forced heirs are descendants of the first degree who, at the time of the death of the decedent, are twenty-three years of age or younger or descendants of the first degree of any age who, because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity, are permanently incapable of taking care of their persons or administering their estates at the time of the death of the decedent.
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(E) For purposes of this Article “permanently incapable of taking care of their persons or administering their estates at the time of the death of the decedent” shall include descendants who, at the time of death of the decedent, have, according to medical documentation, an inherited, incurable disease or condition that may render them incapable of caring for their persons or administering their estates in the future.

Article 1493(A) clarifies the law in several respects and should help |..¡reduce un[507]*507warranted or inappropriate claims. For one thing, art. 1493 specifies that the time at which the incapacity or infirmity is determined to be relevant is at the donor’s death, which was always intended but may not have been fully clear in the earlier legislation. More importantly, the legislature added the word “permanently” before the word “incapable” for the express purpose of emphasizing that a temporary incapacity or infirmity, even if severe, should not apply. Although the jurisprudence on limited interdiction may be helpful, the new rule expressed in this article is intentionally different and more restrictive than the standard for interdiction because of the use of the word “permanently” to describe the nature of the incapacity or infirmity. La. C.C. art. 1493, Revision Comment (c).1

Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo, using the same criteria that govern the district court’s consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Cote v. City of Shreveport, 46,571 (La.App.2d Cir.09/21/11), 73 So.3d 435. Summary judgment shall be rendered “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact, and that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” La. C.C.P. art. 966(B).

|4For plaintiffs to qualify as forced heirs, they must show that at the time of their mother’s death they were permanently incapable of taking care of their persons or administering their estates due to either mental incapacity or physical infirmity. Permanent incapacity “shall include descendants who, at the time of death of the decedent, have, according to medical documentation, an inherited, incurable disease or condition that may render them incapable of caring for their persons or administering their estates in the future.” La. C.C. art. 1493(E).

In support of their motion for summary judgment plaintiffs each submitted a personal affidavit, an affidavit of their respective treating physicians, and Social Security Administration (“SSA”) documents showing that prior to their mother’s death they had been declared disabled. It is on the latter two types of evidence that plaintiffs primarily rely in support of their motion for summary judgment.

Donna Cagle was born on January 11, 1947. She was diagnosed with a tumor known as a vestibular schwannoma or Acoustic Neuroma, which was surgically removed on June 6, 2005, due to the chronic imbalance it was causing her. Prior to her mother’s death, Ms. Cagle was declared disabled by both her private insurer and the SSA, a classification that remains today.

Thomas Cruse, Jr., was born on March 13, 1943. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2003, which returned after treatment and a temporary remission. Prior to his mother’s death, Mr. Cruse was also [508]*508declared disabled by the SSA. The SSA deémed Mr. Cruse’s disability to 1 shave “onset” by at least March 4, 2004, and he remains classified as disabled. In addition, Mr. Cruse also suffers from an irregular heartbeat and postherpetic neuralgia.

The SSA document submitted by Donna Cagle was a determination and finding of disability by the SSA. Tommy Cruse submitted a SSA document showing current SSA benefits. Donna Cagle and Tommy Cruse also submitted affidavits from their treating physicians, Drs. Brian McKinnon and Robert Raulerson, respectively.

In opposition to the summary judgment motion, defendant submitted exhibits, including an affidavit from a private investigator that identified numerous physical activities that plaintiffs have performed.

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Related

Cote v. City of Shreveport
73 So. 3d 435 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
125 So. 3d 505, 2013 WL 5346302, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1949, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/succession-of-carroll-lactapp-2013.