Opinion ID: 1169146
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The Omitted Spouse

Text: We now reach the merits of that part of the magistrate's order granting partial summary judgment to the personal representative on the issue of the omitted spouse, an issue of first impression before this Court. We affirm the magistrate's order that Keeven cannot be considered an omitted spouse under the decedent's will since he was specifically provided for in the will. Keeven had moved in with the decedent and lived with her on a full-time basis since 1976, three years before the will was executed. Eleven months afterwards, they were married. After marriage, the decedent did not revise her will even though she was in very poor health. She died two and one-half years after her marriage. Under these circumstances, the magistrate court correctly held that Keeven was specifically provided for by name, even though referred to as my dear friend, in the will and was not an omitted spouse. Keeven argues that if the will is executed before marriage and provides for the soon-to-be spouse by name, the will must specifically indicate his capacity as spouse, or state that he is included in the will in contemplation of marriage. A provision for a dear friend, Keeven argues, is not equivalent to a provision for a spouse, therefore, he is omitted within the meaning of I.C. § 15-2-301. I.C. § 15-2-301 is identical to the corresponding section of the Uniform Probate Code, but has never been construed by this Court. The section is designed to avoid the unintentional disinheritance of the spouse of a testator who executes a will prior to the marriage but neglects to revise it afterwards. According to the Editorial Board Comment, this section reflects the view that the intestate share of the spouse is what the decedent would want the spouse to have if he had thought about the relationship of his old will to the new situation. See Uniform Probate Code, § 2-301, 8 U.L.A. 88 comment (1983). Originally, at common law and later through legislation, many states applied the rule that, whether the testator was a man or a woman, his or her subsequent marriage revoked the will either absolutely, or as to the spouse, or unless it appeared from the will that it was made in contemplation of marriage, or unless the spouse was provided for in the will or otherwise mentioned therein so as to indicate an intention not to revoke. T. Atkinson, Law of Wills § 85 at 424-25 (2nd ed. 1953). Although the Uniform Probate Code does not achieve its result by specifying revocation of the will, its requirement that an omitted spouse not provided for in the will receive the share he or she would have inherited by intestacy clearly reflects a familiar and long standing feature of the law of wills. Estate of Christiansen, 655 P.2d 646, 649 (Utah 1982). In addressing a case very similar to the present case, the Utah court noted that Some statutes in force when the Uniform Probate Code was drafted specified that in order to avoid the rule of revocation by marriage a provision for the surviving spouse must have been included in the will in contemplation of marriage. In other words, the will provision must have been executed in favor of the recipient in his or her capacity as a prospective spouse. Even where there was no such requirement in the statute, some cases have imposed that requirement, though others have not. ... . Even though `contemplation of marriage' figured prominently in prior statutes and case law, the Uniform Probate Code makes no mention of that legal requirement. In a statute so carefully drafted, that omission must have been deliberate. We think it would therefore be inappropriate for the `contemplation of marriage' requirement to be re-engrafted by judicial decision. The interpretative problems entailed in applying that requirement to various testamentary dispositions, described in Estate of Ganier, Fla.App., 402 So.2d 418, 421 n. 3 (1981), confirm the wisdom of avoiding that requirement unless it is clearly imposed by statute. Here it is not. Christiansen, supra at 649. We agree with the reasoning of the Utah court and hold that a testator can provide by will for his surviving spouse in such a way as to prevent the recipient from being an omitted spouse under I.C. § 15-2-301 even though the devise was not expressly made in contemplation of marriage. It is possible that the devise in the will is so minimal and made in such a way that it appears the testator failed to provide by will for his surviving spouse. The burden of establishing this, however, is on the surviving spouse. In order to satisfy this burden, the evidence must be sufficient to establish that the testamentary gift specified before the marriage could not reasonably represent the testator's effort `to provide by will for his surviving spouse.' Christensen, supra at 650; Estate of Ganier v. Estate of Ganier, 418 So.2d 256, 260 (Fla. 1982). The relevant factors to consider are: (1) the alternative takers under the will, (2) the dollar value of the testamentary gift to the surviving spouse, (3) the fraction of the estate represented by the gift, (4) whether comparable gifts were made to other persons, (5) the length of time between execution of the testamentary instrument and the marriage, (6) the duration of the marriage, (7) any inter vivos gifts the testator has made to the surviving spouse, and (8) the separate property and needs of the surviving spouse. For example, if a testator's will made token gifts to various friends, one of whom married the testator years later, the original gift is not likely to qualify as a `provision by will for his surviving spouse.' Christensen, supra at 650. It is undisputed that the decedent and Keeven were more than just friends. They had an intimate personal relationship and were living together well before the will was executed. Decedent provided that Keeven have a portion of her real property equal to that of one of her children. Since the vast majority of her estate consisted of her home, this is more than a token inheritance. In fact, when the statutory allowances are included, Keeven's share of the estate far exceeds the share of any of the children. Keeven is amply provided for by the will and by the statutory allowances and with those factors mentioned above in mind he cannot be considered an omitted spouse. The magistrate's order that Keeven is not an omitted spouse within the the meaning of I.C. § 15-2-301 is, therefore, affirmed.