Opinion ID: 2351923
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Issue #2: The Jurisdiction of the Probate Court over the Trust

Text: [¶ 58] Although the filing of the will was made necessary by Poland's filing of the holographic will, it was also necessary to invoke the jurisdiction of the probate court to implement the intent of the Decedent contained within the 2008 will and Trust. The will not only revokes the 2004 holographic will filed by Poland, it also transfers to the Trust the remainder of the property accumulated by the Decedent from the time of creation of the will and Trust in 2008 to the time of death under § 2-6-103. At the same time, none of the claims filed by Poland in the probate proceeding were directed at the Trust, but rather were directed at the estate. Poland sought to revoke the 2008 will, as opposed to the Trust. As a matter of law, the elective share, § 2-5-101, is limited to deprivation by will. What's more, it is clear that by its own terms, the creditor's claim was filed against the estate and not the Trust. [¶ 59] By his own choice, Poland proceeded against an estate that was penniless. It is undisputed that Poland did not file a claim within the statutory 120-day limit under § 4-10-507. By the time the complaint was filed against the Trust, it was simply too late. In any event, the issue of whether the probate court can address the validity of the Trust is not presented by this matter. Poland has never claimed that the 2008 Trust was invalid.