Title: Wheeler v. Myers

State: arkansas

Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court

Document:

Jake WHEELER and Bobby Wheeler v. Gary MYERS
and Donna Kerns

97-396                                             ___ S.W.2d ___

                    Supreme Court of Arkansas
               Opinion delivered December 11, 1997


1.   Descent & distribution -- living person has no heirs. -- A living
     person has no heirs; in the strictly proper sense of the word,
     no one is an heir until after the death of the ancestor, and
     the word signifies one who has succeeded to a dead ancestor;
     it is used to express the relation of persons to some deceased
     ancestor, and cannot be applicable to one whose ancestor is
     living.

2.   Descent & distribution -- right to inherit vests upon death of decedent. -
     - The right to inherit property is a right that accrues upon
     the owner's death; on a person's death, the rights of his
     heirs become vested and may not be impaired by subsequent
     legislation.

3.   Descent & distribution -- law in effect at time of death of ancestor is
     controlling. -- Notwithstanding whether an adopted person is the
     heir or the ancestor or, correspondingly, whether a natural
     relative is the claimant to the estate or the decedent, the
     law in effect at the time of the death of the ancestor is
     controlling on matters of inheritance.

4.   Descent & distribution -- trial court correctly concluded that law in
     effect at time of ancestor's death prohibited appellants from inheriting
     from his estate. -- Where appellants' rights to inherit from
     their natural relatives could not have possibly vested until
     the time of an ancestor's death in 1980, the supreme court
     held that the law in effect at the time of his death was
     controlling; the trial court thus correctly concluded that
     Ark. Code Ann.  9-9-215 (Supp. 1995), which had been in
     effect since 1977, prohibited appellants from inheriting from
     the ancestor's estate.


     Appeal from Prairie Probate Court; Jim Hannah, Chancellor;
affirmed.
     Joseph H. O'Bryan, for appellants.
     Malcolm Smith, for appellees.

     Donald L. Corbin, Justice.
     Appellants Jake and Bobby Wheeler appeal the orders of the
Prairie County Chancery and Probate Courts, finding that Appellees
Gary Myers and Donna Kerns are the heirs of Ervin Myers to the
exclusion of Appellants.  This appeal was certified to us from the
court of appeals on the basis that it presents an issue of first
impression; hence, our jurisdiction is pursuant to Ark. Sup. Ct. R.
1-2(d).  Appellants' sole point for reversal is that the trial
court erred in holding that the right of adopted children to
inherit from their natural ancestors is dependent upon the laws on
adoption and inheritance in effect at the time of the natural
ancestors' deaths.  We find no error and affirm.
     The essential facts are not in dispute.  Appellants and
Appellees are the four surviving natural children of Ira Myers. 
Ira Myers was the sole child of Ervin and Mae Myers.  Appellants
were adopted by their stepfather Robert James Wheeler in 1961.  Ira
Myers died in 1973.  Ervin Myers died on September 28, 1980, and
was survived by his wife Mae.  Mae Myers held possession of the
property at issue from the time of Ervin Myers's death until her
own death in 1995.
     Appellants filed a petition in the Prairie County Chancery
Court on December 27, 1995, requesting that the court declare and
adjudicate the rights to the possession and rental income from the
property at issue.  Appellees denied all material allegations
contained in the petition and filed a counterclaim stating that
Appellants had no interest in the property because they had been
adopted and had thus ceased to be heirs of Ira Myers.  While that
action was pending in the chancery court, Appellees filed a
petition in the Prairie County Probate Court requesting the court
to conduct a hearing to determine the decedent's heirs.  
     The trial court found that Jake and Bobby Wheeler were legally
adopted by Robert James Wheeler in 1961 and that the temporary and
final orders of their adoption were not subject to collateral
attack.  The trial court determined that the right to inherit
property does not vest until the death of the owner and that the
law in effect at the time of the owner's death is controlling as to
matters of inheritance.  The court concluded further that Ark. Code
Ann.  9-9-215 (Supp. 1995), which was passed in 1977 and was in
effect at the time of Ervin Myers's death, provides that all legal
relationships between the adopted individual and his or her natural
relatives, including the right of inheritance, are terminated upon
the final decree of adoption.  Accordingly, the trial court ruled
that the application of section 9-9-215 precluded Jake and Bobby
Wheeler from inheriting from their natural grandfather, Ervin
Myers.
     Appellants do not dispute that the law in effect at the time
of Ervin Myers's death would preclude them from inheriting any part
of his estate.  Thus, the sole issue for our review is whether the
trial court erred in ruling that the law in effect at the time of
Ervin Myers's death is controlling as to Appellants' rights to
inherit from his estate.  For the reasons outlined below, we
conclude that the trial court's ruling was correct.  
     Appellants rely heavily on this court's decisions in Dean v.
Smith, 195 Ark. 614, 113 S.W.2d 485 (1938), and Dean v. Brown, 216
Ark. 761,