Yetman v. Walsh

Any error in the probate court's finding of probable cause to proceed with an evidentiary hearing on the conservatorship petition was moot, since the finding of probable cause is a pretrial matter, which is not reviewable on appeal once the trial has occurred.

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Hazel Yetman appeals a probate court’s order granting her daughter and son-in-law’s petition to appoint a conservator over Yetman’s assets. Yetman claims that no clear and convincing evidence supported the court’s finding that she was incapable of managing her property and that the court erred in its pre-trial ruling that there was probable cause to believe she could not manage her property. As Yetman has chosen not to include the transcript of the evidence in the appellate record, and as any pre-trial ruling on Yetman’s capabilities is now, after a trial determining the matter, harmless if not moot, we affirm. 1. Following an evidentiary hearing, the probate court found that based on clear and convincing evidence, including profound discrepancies in Yetman’s testimony, Yetman suffered from gravely-impaired judgment, which combined with her physical frailty and impaired vision made her vulnerable to exploitation by a new person who was now living in her household. The court concluded that she lacked sufficient understanding to make significant responsible decisions concerning the management of her property and accordingly appointed a conservator over that property. See OCGA § § 29-5-1 a; 29-5-12 d 4.

Yetman challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying these findings of fact. But Yetman has failed to include a transcript of the evidentiary hearing in the appellate record. Indeed, in her notice of appeal, she asked only that the clerk “not omit anything from the record on appeal,” which request did not address the need for or the presence of a transcript in the record. See Moore v. Morgan .1 “The specification that ‘nothing’ is to be omitted from the record would not infer that the transcript is to be included, since the appellant is required to state whether the transcript will be filed, in addition to designating any portion of the record to be omitted.” Steadham v. State of Ga. 2 See OCGA § 5-6-37; Tempo Carpet Co. v. Collectible Classic Cars of Ga. 3

Yetman v. Walsh

Any error in the probate court's finding of probable cause to proceed with an evidentiary hearing on the conservatorship petition was moot, since the finding of probable cause is a pretrial matter, which is not reviewable on appeal once the trial has occurred.

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