Estate Of Berger

Facts

Melanie P. Berger (Melanie) started dating Maria L. Coronado (P) in the spring of 2002. P was in the midst of a divorce and had three daughters who were then 15, 11, and 10 years old. Melanie had met the daughters a few times prior to August 2002. In early August 2002, P proposed marriage to Melanie with a diamond solitaire ring, and the two became engaged. Melanie had a sister, Glee (D). Melanie and D had an “off and on” relationship. They would talk on the phone each month, but Melanie never mentioned P to D. After living as a woman and wearing female clothing for a year as her doctor ordered, Melanie arranged to have gender reassignment surgery in late August 2002. That surgery entailed the surgical alteration of her sex organs. After proposing to Melanie before Melanie had her surgery, P traveled to Spain with her daughters to visit family. While D was in Spain, Melanie and P corresponded through e-mail using a variety of different e-mail accounts. Specifically, P sent Melanie an e-mail on August 13, 2002, which was the day she arrived in Spain; she sent another e-mail to Melanie on August 14, 2002. On August 16, 2002, while P was still in Spain, Melanie printed out a letter on stationery from her then-employer, the Social Security Administration (the letter). The letter starts with the date “8-16-02”; lists Melanie's full name, address, and social security number; and begins with the salutation “To whom it may concern.” The letter then reads as follows: “I, Melanie Perry Berger, with a sound mind and excellent health, name P, [lists P's then-current address], as my sole beneficiary in the event of my death. She will take ownership of all my personal possessions and property located at [address of Melanie's house in Pasadena]. She will make the sole determinations as to what she will keep, and what personal belongings may, or may not, be distributed to any inquiring family members. She will also receive and have full discretion of: “1. My [Pasadena] home located at [listing address]. “2. My retirement Thrift Savings. “3. My 1984 Mercedes Benz 300 CD, license [listing number]. “4. My Washington Mutual checking account [listing number]. “5. Any and all wages paid to my account, post mortem. “It should be noted that I would prefer to have some of the above Thrift assets set aside for the education of P's three daughters, [naming each]. This is, however, only a suggestion, and P … shall have the final decision on these matters.” The letter closes with “Sign[ed] and dated 8-16-02 in Pasadena, California,” and beneath it, Melanie's signature. (A scanned copy of the letter, with private information redacted, is attached as appen. A, post, p. 1312.) No one witnessed Melanie sign the letter. On the very same day as the letter is dated, Melanie sent P an e-mail informing her that Melanie “decided” to “leave the house, all the belongings, [her] record collection and [her] car” to Maria and also would “leave [her] retirement savings in [P's] name to be used for the three girls['] college education in the event of [her] death.” Melanie explained that she would “leave these documents on [P's] desk” “chair” “before [Melanie] leaves” for her gender reassignment surgery. Melanie sent several more e-mails to P. On August 18, 2002, she sent an e-mail referring to Maria as her “dearest,” “sweetest” “love.” On August 19, 2002, Melanie sent a few e-mails to P expressing frustration that Maria had not responded to the “number of emails” that Melanie had sent in the last few days. She also reiterated that “the documents regarding [her] will to [P] will be on [P's] desk chair at [P‘s] apartment, and the originals will be in [Melanie's] in[-]box on [her] desk at home.” P admitted that she had difficulty responding quickly to Melanie's e-mails. P found a copy of the letter on her desk chair. P and Melanie did not discuss the matters. Melanie did not file the paperwork to designate P as the beneficiary of her retirement account. Melanie and P ended their romantic relationship in the spring of 2003 and ceased all contact with one another. In 2020, Melanie became increasingly religious and told neighbors that she wanted to leave her assets “to the church.” There is no evidence Melanie ever memorialized her new intention. Melanie passed away on November 30, 2020. As the pastor of Melanie's church was going through Melanie's personal effects in her home, he found the letter at the bottom of one of the drawers of Melanie's desk. The pastor gave a copy to Melanie's sister and called P to inform her of Melanie's death. On February 4, 2021, P filed a petition seeking to have the letter probated as Melanie's will. D was otherwise Melanie's sole heir at law, opposed the petition. The probate court denied P‘s petition. The court noted that Melanie had closed her retirement account in 2012, 10 years after signing the letter. The court found it hard to believe that P and Melanie did not discuss the letter, that they did not discuss Melanie's finances, that P did not tell her daughters about the letter, and that Maria did not go through Melanie's house “look[ing] for the [original of the] will”; in the court's view, this was all “strange” and “somewhat inconsistent with what engaged people do.” The court also pointed to P's inability to remember by name one of Melanie's neighbors whom Melanie mentioned in one of the 2002 e-mails. In March 2022, the court held a further hearing where it permitted P to offer additional testimony and thereafter admitted some-but not all-of a bevy of additional e-mails. The court ultimately re-adopted its earlier ruling, but somewhat cryptically added that the “relationship” between Melanie and P was “not entirely without questions.” P appealed. 

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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