Opinion ID: 1126780
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Family Allowance.

Text: Lora Gregory (now Lora Ford) cites as error the superior court's award of the entire net estate as a family allowance for the benefit of the minor child Phyllis Gregory. The award of the family allowance was based on AS 13.30.130(a) which provides:  Award to Family. (a) After the filing of the inventory, if the deceased died leaving a widow or minor children, the judge, upon such notice as may be fixed by him, upon being satisfied that the funeral expenses, expenses of last illness and of administration have been paid or provided for, and upon petition for that purpose, shall award and set off to the surviving widow or minor children property of the estate not exceeding the value of $8,000, exclusive of any mortgage or mechanic's, laborer's or other lien upon the property so set off, which property so set off shall include the home and household goods, if any, and all property of the deceased exempt from execution. The award shall be by an order or judgment of the judge and vest the absolute title, and there shall be no further administration upon the portion of the estate so set off and awarded, but the remainder of the estate, if any, shall be settled as other estates. The property thus set apart, if there is a widow, shall be decreed by the judgment, her property to be used and expended by her for the maintenance of herself and the minor children of the deceased, if any, or if there is no widow it shall be decreed the property of the minor child, or if there are more than one, of the minor children in such proportion as the judge considers proper, taking into consideration their age and the expense of maintenance, to be used and expended in the nurture, maintenance and support of the child or children, until they become of legal age, by the guardian thereof, as the law may direct. The judgment, decree and award shall specifically describe the property set apart and is final, except in case of appeal or for fraud. This court has stated that the predecessor to this section, when read in conjunction with the sections that are now AS 13.30.120 and 13.30.140, [2] disclose[s] the motivating thought: that of support and maintenance of the widow and children. In re Hewett's Estate, 358 P.2d 579, 581 (Alaska 1961). Appellant maintains that AS 13.30.130 is mandatory once a petition is filed, and that the court has no discretion as to the amount of property it will set aside. That is, if a petition is filed, the court must set aside property of the estate worth $8,000, or if, after deduction of the designated expenses, the estate is not worth $8,000, then the court must set aside as much property, exclusive of liens, as remains. Appellant argues further that this award must be given to the surviving widow. We do not agree. The plain words of the statute are:    the judge    shall award and set off    property of the estate not exceeding the value of $8,000   . (Emphasis supplied.) Nothing in the language of the statute indicates that the court must award the entire $8,000, or any specific amount. It only states that the award may not be in excess of $8,000. Since the dominant purpose of the family allowance statute is to assure that the widow and minor children receive support and maintenance, we believe the court has discretion to determine what amount is necessary to achieve this purpose. Therefore, it was not error for the superior court to find that the minor child, Phyllis Gregory, was entitled to the allowance to Lora Gregory's exclusion. [3] Appellant also argues that under the terms of the statute, even if the allowance is to be applied to the child's benefit, it must go to the widow if there be one. The facts of this case, however, indicate that the minor child's interests have been adverse to Lora Gregory's throughout the entire proceeding. It has long been recognized that the courts employ equitable principles in carrying out the purposes of the statutes governing the administration of decedents' estates. [4] The court implicitly had the power to set up the support and maintenance arrangement under the family allowance statute in the manner it did, taking into account the apparent attitude of Lora Gregory toward the child. [5]