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Brown v. Estate of Walter Brown Sr.

The 76-year-old widow was not bound by her election to take property under her husband's will because there was no evidence that she knew she was entitled to a year's support when she made the election.

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Within two years of Walter Brown, Sr.’s death, his widow Corine Brown petitioned his estate for a year’s support. The estate’s executor and the Browns’ minor children objected, arguing that she had already elected to take two real-property bequests under his will in lieu of a year’s support. They urged that i her receipt of the will which expressly set forth that the bequests were in lieu of her year’s support, ii her receipt of a deed from the executor granting her the real property interests so devised, iii her subsequent payment of property taxes on the real estate parcels, and iv her receipt since September 1997 of the rental income from the income-producing property, established as a matter of law that she had knowingly elected to take the bequests in lieu of her right to a year’s support. The probate court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of the estate on Mrs. Brown’s petition.

The question on appeal is whether i her affidavit that she was unaware of her right to a year’s support, and ii the absence of any evidence that she knew the condition of the estate, precluded the probate court from entering summary judgment against her. We answer in the affirmative and reverse.

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