80 Wash. 175 | Wash. | 1914
On November 29, 1909, Katherine F. Langdon died intestate, in King county, Washington, leav
The present action was begun by Alice C. Doyle, on August 17, 1912, to set aside the decree of distribution and for an award to her of an undivided half interest in the property. In her complaint, she alleged that the property of the estate was the separate property of Katherine F. Langdon; that she was the mother of the deceased, and a co-heir to her estate with the administrator, W. E. Langdon, and that she had been deprived of her interest therein by the fraud and deceit of the administrator. The administrator answered the allegations of the complaint by a general denial; and on the
The claim of fraud and deceit is based upon the conduct of the administrator had in connection with the probate proceedings. From the statement of the facts relating to the administration proceedings, it will be observed that the proceedings were apparently instituted originally on the theory that the property of the estate was the separate property of the decedent, in which case it would descend in equal shares to the respondent and appellant, and that the administrator subsequently adopted the theory that the property was community property, which would change the rule of descent, the respondent in that case being the sole heir thereof. In connection with this, the appellant testified (her testimony being taken by deposition) that, shortly after the institution of the probate proceedings, the respondent wrote a letter to a member of her family at Chicago in which he stated the fact of his wife’s death, the fact that she left an estate, that he had begun administration proceedings upon the estate and would attend to its due administration, and that the appellant with himself were the heirs at law of the estate and the persons to whom it would be finally distributed. She testified further that she relied upon these statements, believing that the respondent would carry into effect his promises, and had no knowledge or idea prior to the entering of the decree of distribution that the estate would not be so distributed; that she was thereby lulled into security, and, for
But, however persuasive these facts may be, when considered by themselves, they lose much, if not all, of their effectiveness when considered with other facts in the record. The testimony on the part of the respondent tended to show that he did not so much change his opinion as to the character of the property of the estate—that is, whether it was separate or community property—as he did his views of the law with relation to the descent of community property. He testified that he at all times understood and claimed that the property was community property, but understood from his attorney that the rule of descent as to property of that character did not differ from the rule applicable to separate property. The letter on which the appellant relies bears out this statement. In it, he describes the property left by the decedent with particularity, and speaks of it as property “we owned,” as “our property,” and as “community property;” saying therein, “Mother Doyle and I are the sole heirs of Katherine’s community interest” in such property. This letter was written on the day after letters of administration were granted to him, before he made claim to be the sole heir of the estate, and before he learned that the rule of descent was different with respect to community property than it was with reference to separate property. Clearly, if he thought then that the property was the separate property of his wife, he would not have used the terms in describing it that he used in the letter. Moreover, it was shown that he discovered his mistake about a month later, and immediately wrote another letter to a member of the appellant’s family at Chicago, in which he enclosed copies of the statutes of this state showing the rule of descent with reference to community property, and saying that he had been in error in regard thei’eto in his former letter. That this letter, at some time, reached the appellant is made clear by her deposition, as she attaches the same thereto. That she
-Since fraud must be proved by clear and convincing evidence, we are unable to conclude, on the foregoing facts, that the trial court did not rightly decide that fraud had not been proven. We have not overlooked the appellant’s strictures upon the conduct and character of the respondent, based upon his past history, but, giving these their full weight, we agree with the trial judge that it is difficult to conceive anything the respondent could have done that he did not do towards informing the appellant and her immediate relations of his intentions with regard to the property.
But, moreover, we cannot follow the appellant in her claim that the property of this estate was the separate property
The appellant further complains that the court erred in the admission of certain evidence. But, aside from the fact that we think the evidence properly admitted, we are unable to conclude that the result of the cause would be changed were the evidence excluded. If error at all, it was error without prejudice, and therefore immaterial.
The judgment is affirmed.
Crow, C. J., Morris, Parker, and Mount, JJ., concur.