Milana Staletovich Riggs v. Cynthia Hill, in her capacity as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Leon O. Riggs, 84 N.E.3d 699

Milana Riggs and Leon Riggs married in 1968, separated in 1969, and never resumed cohabitation; no children.
Milana obtained a Mexican divorce decree in 1969; its validity remained unresolved in Indiana litigation (1973 dissolution petition; 1977 declaratory action by Leon) that were never finally adjudicated.
From 1970 until his death in 2015 Leon filed taxes as single and arranged his affairs assuming he was unmarried.
Milana filed a dissolution petition in 2015 while Leon had dementia; Leon died before resolution. Milana then elected to take against Leon’s will as his surviving spouse.
The personal representative moved for summary judgment, arguing equitable defenses (laches, unclean hands, estoppel) barred Milana’s election; the probate court struck Milana’s testimony under Indiana’s Dead Man’s Statute and granted summary judgment for the estate on laches.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility under Dead Man’s Statute	Milana: her affidavit and 1970s deposition should be admitted; estate waived the objection	Estate: Milana is a necessary adverse party and her testimony is barred by the Dead Man’s Statute; no waiver occurred	Court: Striking was proper; estate did not waive objection and statute bars her testimony about transactions with decedent
Laches as a bar to spousal election	Milana: delay was excusable; she had no duty to litigate validity of Mexican decree earlier	Estate: 45+ year delay, parties treated as unmarried, and Leon’s affairs changed; delay prejudiced estate	Court: Held laches applies — inexcusable delay, implied waiver/acquiescence, and prejudice; summary judgment for estate
Judicial estoppel to prevent estate from denying marriage	Milana: Leon previously admitted marriage in 1973, so estate should be estopped from denying spousal status	Estate: Never argued Leon was divorced; focused on equitable defenses, not relitigation of decree validity	Court: Declined to apply judicial estoppel under these facts
Whether trial court erred by relying on 1970s litigation evidence	Milana: court shouldn’t rely on evidence she designated alone	Estate: proceedings and filings are part of the record	Court: No error; existence of 1973 and 1977 proceedings undisputed and properly considered

In re Sutherland’s Estate, 204 N.E.2d 520 (Ind. 1965) (Dead Man’s Statute bars survivor’s testimony about predecedent transactions when claiming estate share)
Taylor v. Taylor, 643 N.E.2d 893 (Ind. 1994) (surviving spouse’s testimony incompetent under Dead Man’s Statute absent waiver)
In re Estate of Rickert, 934 N.E.2d 726 (Ind. 2010) (Dead Man’s Statute reflects policy excluding claimants’ versions of dealings with decedent)
Gabriel v. Gabriel, 947 N.E.2d 1001 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (elements and rationale for invoking laches)