Opinion ID: 853502
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admission of Will to Probate

Text: The Troxels make two interrelated arguments supporting their contention that the trial court erred when it denied their petition to reopen Jack's estate and revoke the order of probate. Jack's will was offered into probate more than three years after his death, in violation of Indiana Code Section 29-1-7-15.1(d). For that reason, the Troxels first argue that the probate court's orders to admit the will to probate and close the estate were void ab initio. The Court of Appeals agreed with this reasoning. Troxel, 720 N.E.2d at 735. We agree with the Court of Appeals that the language of Indiana Code section 29-1-7-15.1(d) clearly and unambiguously bars the admission of wills to probate more than three years after death. However, we do not agree that where a probate court admits a will to probate in violation of the statute, the order is void ab initio. Some form of the statute of limitations for the probate of wills has been a part of Indiana state and territorial laws since 1814. 1A Henry's Probate Law & Practice (1999). However, this is the first case in which the Indiana appellate courts have been confronted with the question of the proper remedy when a court erroneously admits a will to probate after the statutory time limit. The Troxels rely on a 1968 opinion from the Court of Appeals to strengthen their contention that the probate court's order admitting Jack's will to probate was void ab initio. In re Estate of Cameron involved a holographic, unsigned, and unwitnessed codicil that the trial court had admitted to probate even though it did not meet the statutory requirements of a testamentary document. 142 Ind.App. 645, 236 N.E.2d 626 (1968). An opponent of the codicil filed objections to a nunc pro tunc order purporting to admit the codicil as of a date twenty months earlier. [1] The Court of Appeals excused the delay, following a California ruling that if an order admitting a will to probate is void on its face, it may be collaterally attacked at any time. The defect in Cameron was not in the jurisdiction of the court but in the nature of the document represented to be a codicil. On its face, the codicil did not constitute a testamentary document and therefore was a nullity or void as a purported disposition of the decedent's assets. Cameron, 142 Ind.App. at 652, 236 N.E.2d at 628. Assuming without deciding that Cameron was correctly decided, it is not controlling here. The Troxels' argument assumes that on September 26, 1995, three years after Jack's death, his will became patently defective and therefore the order admitting it to probate was void. We do not agree that the expiration of a statute of limitations creates a patent defect in an otherwise valid will. Statutory requirements regarding the form and content of wills and related instruments are designed to ensure that documents admitted to probate are valid and accurately represent the wishes of the decedent. Unlike the unsigned codicil in Cameron, Jack's will has no defect that casts doubt upon its testamentary validity and there is no dispute that the will represented Jack's wishes regarding the distribution of his property. Rather, the defect the Troxels assert is in the nature of a statute of limitations bar to probating the will. Statutes of limitations are affirmative defenses. Ind. Trial Rule 8(C). As such, they are waivable. Id. As heirs-at-law, the Troxels were clearly interested parties entitled to bring a will contest. They had a valid defense to the probate of Jack's will, but were under a time limitation of their own. Indiana Code section 19-1-7-17 requires objections to be filed within five months after a will is admitted to probate. This was not done and had the effect of waiving the statute of limitations. The purpose of this limitation, like the three-year period for probating a will, is to give finality to the decedent's affairs. Even if the initial probate was untimely, the matter can be put to rest only if there is an end to the time for objections to the untimely probate. Second, the Troxels argue that an Indiana court has jurisdiction to admit to probate only those wills that comply with all relevant statutory requirements. By phrasing the claim in jurisdictional terms, the Troxels contend that the court's subsequent orders were void ab initio. Jurisdiction is comprised of three elements: (1) jurisdiction of the subject matter; (2) jurisdiction of the person; and (3) jurisdiction of the particular case. Browning v. Walters, 620 N.E.2d 28, 31 (Ind.Ct. App.1993). The question of subject matter jurisdiction entails a determination of whether a court has jurisdiction over the general class of actions to which a particular case belongs. DuShane v. DuShane, 486 N.E.2d 1106, 1107 (Ind.Ct.App.1985). When a court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter, its actions are void ab initio and have no effect whatsoever. Such judgments are incapable of confirmation or ratification. Trook v. Lafayette Bank & Trust Co., 581 N.E.2d 941, 944 (Ind.Ct. App.1991), trans. denied. Lack of personal jurisdiction is also fatal and, in its absence, an order can be attacked at any time. Stidham v. Whelchel, 698 N.E.2d 1152, 1154-56 (Ind.1998). The Troxels acknowledge that the St. Joseph Probate Court has subject matter jurisdiction over probate. There is no challenge to jurisdiction over the person of any of the parties. However, because probate law in Indiana is purely statutory, the Troxels contend that orders issued by a probate court in the absence of jurisdiction over a particular case are void ab initio. This argument leads to two questions: (1) did the expiration of the statute of limitations end the probate court's jurisdiction over the probate of Jack's will, and (2) if so, did that render the court's subsequent orders void or voidable? The Troxels rely on Cameron and Overpeck v. Dowd, 173 Ind.App. 610, 364 N.E.2d 1043 (1977), for the proposition that the probate court lacked jurisdiction over Jack's will. We think neither case supports their argument. In Cameron, the Court of Appeals did not base its holding on the probate court's lack of jurisdiction. Rather, it found that the codicil was a non-testamentary document and therefore a void attempt to amend the will. Cameron, 142 Ind.App. at 645, 236 N.E.2d at 626. Overpeck is a complicated case in which a series of estates had to be opened and settled before the owners of a particular parcel of land could be ascertained. As the probate court worked through a web of potential beneficiaries, it granted letters of administration for the estates of three sisters. Evidence later proved that none of the sisters had ever been residents of Indiana, let alone the county in which probate was opened. Nor did any of the sisters own any assets in Indiana that would provide a basis for an ancillary administration. See Ind.Code §§ 29-2-1-1 to 12 (1998). In simple terms, title to the parcel of land in question had never vested in any of the sisters, and they had no assets in Indiana. The Court of Appeals held that an Indiana probate court lacks jurisdiction to commence estate proceedings where the decedent is neither a domicile of Indiana nor owns assets in Indiana. As a result, the orders regarding the three estates were void. The Court of Appeals did not specify whether the probate court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, or jurisdiction over the particular case. However, it is clear that the probate court had neither personal jurisdiction over the three sisters nor in rem jurisdiction over their estates. Therefore, neither Cameron nor Overpeck supports the proposition that the probate court's order admitting Jack's will was void for lack of jurisdiction. Indiana appellate courts have consistently held that a judgment rendered by a court without jurisdiction to hear that particular case is not void, but merely voidable. If not attacked in a timely manner, the jurisdictional defect is waived. Trook, 581 N.E.2d at 944; DuShane, 486 N.E.2d at 1107. The Troxels argue that this general principle should not be applied to this case because probate law is purely statutory. This does not seem to be a critical difference. But in any event, Indiana appellate courts have applied this principle to claims that arise purely from statute. Estate of Goodwin v. Goodwin, 721 N.E.2d 886, 890 (Ind.Ct.App.1999) (divorce court's nunc pro tunc dissolution order nine years after divorce was finalized was found to be voidable); Chapman v. Skinner, 466 N.E.2d 777, 779 (Ind.Ct.App.1984) (court that had issued divorce judgment had continuing jurisdiction over child custody decree; therefore different circuit court had no jurisdiction to entertain grandparents' petition for visitation rights.) We see no reason to depart from this precedent and decline to carve out an exception to this rule for probate law. We hold that the orders admitting Jack's will to probate and closing the estate were voidable because they violated Indiana Code section 29-1-7-15.1(d). The proper remedy to correct the probate court's order was the timely filing of a will contest. Whether the Troxels availed themselves of this remedy is discussed below.