Ferguson v. Critopoulos via www.justia.com

Edward “Tiger” Ferguson, V. appealed a probate court’s judgment awarding an omitted-spouse share of his stepfather’s estate to Katina Critopoulos. Dimitrios Critopoulos (the decedent) died in 2012. The decedent had no children. His parents predeceased him, and he had no siblings. At the time of his death, the decedent was married to Katina. The couple had wed less than a year earlier. The decedent had a valid will at the time of his death, but the will, which was executed prior to their marriage, made no provision for Katina. The decedent’s first wife, Dorothy Marie Hayes Critopoulos, had been married to the decedent for 35 years when she predeceased him in 2009. Dorothy had three children from a prior marriage: Crystal M. Hanawalt, Tiger, and Timothy Ferguson (“Tim”). Although the decedent did not adopt Crystal, Tiger, and Tim, it was undisputed that the three enjoyed a parent-child relationship with the decedent. Crystal, Tiger, and Tim were named as the residual legatees under the decedent’s will. When the will was probated, Katina filed a petition for an omitted-spouse share. The probate court granted Katina’s request. Tiger appealed. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded: the record showed that the amount of the transfers made during the marriage, along with the testimony that the decedent considered the terms of his will, the fact that Katina was not included in the will, the fact that the decedent did not change his will, and the fact that the will ultimately benefited Dorothy’s children provided reasonable proof to satisfy Tiger’s burden of proving an exception to the omitted-spouse share under the facts of this case. “[I]t was the main role of the probate court in this case to apply the law to the largely undisputed material facts.”