Opinion ID: 1766533
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: Where there's a will, there's a way, as the saying goes. In probate law, however, unless the will is as prescribed by statute, there is no willno way. The question here is whether the decedent's purported will can be admitted to probate, under the applicable statute, when it was not presented to the probate division within one year of decedent's death, as the statute requires. When a person dies, Missouri's statutes specify how the person's assets are to be distributed unless there is a valid will that is admitted timely to probate. Hence, the ability of a decedent to control the disposition of property after death is subject to the formalities the law requires of a will and, after death, the time limits prescribed for the heirs or other interested persons to present the will to the probate division. In this case, Harold Unnerstall established a trust and purportedly executed a will during his life. On the first anniversary of Mr. Unnerstall's death, his widow, Luanne S. Unnerstall, filed a petition in the probate division of the Franklin County circuit court to administer his estate. Later, the purported will was presented to the probate division. Mrs. Unnerstall asserts that her husband's assets should be subject to probate as though he died without a will because the will was not presented to the probate division within one year as required by law. Notwithstanding Mrs. Unnerstall's objection, the respondent judge admitted her husband's purported will to probate and granted letters testamentary to Gary Unnerstall, the decedent's nephew, whom the will names as executor. As relator, Mrs. Unnerstall petitioned this Court for a writ of mandamus asking that this Court require the respondent judge to vacate the orders admitting her husband's purported will to probate, to grant letters testamentary to her, and to enter an order declaring that her husband died intestate. This Court, which has jurisdiction under article V, section 4 of the Missouri Constitution, issued a preliminary writ of mandamus. Because the decedent's will was not presented timely, the writ is made permanent.