Tentative Ruling: Estate of Charles R. Dion

Case Number

26PR00083

Case Type

Hearing Date / Time

Wed, 04/08/2026 - 09:30

Nature of Proceedings

Petition for Probate and Letters Testamentary

Tentative Ruling

Probate Notes:

Appearances required.

Parties must come prepared to discuss the following:

Priority of Pretermitted Spouse.  Decedent executed his last will and testament in 1971. In that instrument he named his spouse as executrix and sole devisee. (Pet. at attch 3f(2), Art. 1.)  Decedent subsequently divorced that spouse in 2017, which requires this Court to treat the ex-spouse as pre-deceased. (Prob. Code, §6122(c)(2).)

However, evidence on file with the Court (death certificate at attch. 3g(1)(d)) shows the Decedent presumably married a subsequent spouse named Gloria Foster.  This means Ms. Foster is presumably a pretermitted spouse pursuant to Probate Code section 21610, et seq., which raises a question of priority of appointment since section 21610 creates an intestacy for Ms. Foster’s share of the estate, and section 8461 gives Ms. Foster priority of appointment in an intestate estate.  A similar situation was held to give a pretermitted child priority in a Supreme Court case. (In re Stickelbaut's Estate (1960) 54 Cal.2d 390.)

Therefore, petitioner must come prepared to discuss the following:

1. Whether Ms. Foster bears any burden to prove her marriage to Decedent.
2. Whether Ms. Foster’s priority of appointment over the intestate share of the estate as pretermitted spouse requires this court to consider her a priority over the entire estate administration.