Opinion ID: 2633715
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Will Provision

Text: [¶19] Nola's will, executed in 1982, ten years after the stock purchase agreement, provided in pertinent part: None of the property devised and bequeathed by my will, and particularly the capital stock in 7-C INDUSTRIES, INC., a Wyoming Corporation, may be sold, conveyed in any manner, or encumbered in any way, directly or indirectly during the lifetime of my husband without his specific written consent; and after the death of my husband, said property or interests therein, may, during the lifetime of my children, or any of them, only be sold, or conveyed or encumbered in any manner, to my other children, unless all agree otherwise, with preference given to that person or those persons who will stay on the property, including the property owned by 7-C INDUSTRIES, INC., and keep it intact (emphasis added). After Nola's death in 1985, her will was submitted for probate in an Idaho district court. From documents submitted with the parties' summary judgment motions in this case, it appears that 134 shares of corporate stock were transferred to each of the seven children pursuant to the will in December of 1986. A copy of the transfer restriction contained in the will was attached to the stock transfers. An order approving the final accounting and distribution and formally closing Nola's estate was entered by the Idaho district court in January of 1987. The order was final and conclusive upon entry and subject to challenge only as provided in the Idaho Uniform Probate Code, § 15-1-101, et seq. Any claim that the provision of Nora's will restricting the transfer of 7-C stock was invalid was properly a matter for the Idaho district court. It is not an issue for this Court to decide nor was it an issue for the district court [2] to decide in this action seeking a declaration of the parties' rights under a stock purchase agreement executed ten years prior to the will. [¶20] In deciding the issue presented, it would be appropriate for this Court to consider evidence of circumstances surrounding execution of the stock purchase agreement in determining the parties' intent. Mullinnix LLC v. HKB Royalty Trust, 2006 WY 14, ¶ 26, 126 P.3d 909, 921 (Wyo. 2006). It would not be appropriate, however, to consider the will. Extrinsic evidence, as used in the context of contract construction, refers to the commercial or other setting in which the contract was negotiated and other objectively determinable factors that give a context to the transaction between the parties. Hickman v. Groves, 2003 WY 76, ¶ 12, 71 P.3d 256, 260 (Wyo. 2003). Nola's will, executed in 1982, provides no context to the setting in which the stock purchase agreement was negotiated and signed ten years earlier. Simply put, the will provision at issue is irrelevant to our interpretation of the agreement.