Kast v. Kast CA3
A decedent’s widow appeals from a probate court determination that the decedent’s bequest of his separate investment property (the Linden property) to his adult children from a previous marriage was not adeemed (extinguished) by his lifetime sale of that property and use of its proceeds to purchase a different investment property (the Fairlane property; a trailer park). The court granted the petition filed by the adult children -- Michael Kast, Peter Kast, and Cynthia Dominguez -- under Probate Code section 17200. (Unless otherwise stated, statutory section references that follow are to the Probate Code.) The court found there was a mere “change in form” of the property, such that the normal presumption of ademption did not apply in the absence of proof that the testator intended the gift to fail, and the evidence showed Anthony did not intend the gift to fail. Accordingly, the children are entitled to the Fairlane property.
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