Estate Of Martignacco

689 N.W.2d 262 (Minn. App. 2004)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D's birth certificate recites that his father is Harold Reed and his mother is Lucille Reed. Harold and Lucille were married at the time of D's birth. D believed that Harold Reed was his father. Harold Reed similarly believed that D was his son. In 1989, after Harold's death, D learned from his mother that Adolph Martignacco was actually his biological father. D subsequently met Adolph, and the district court found that they 'developed a relationship, [and] spent time together.' Adolph chose not to introduce his son to his family members. D's very existence came as a complete surprise to the rest of the family. D's mother, Lucille, submitted an affidavit that explained that D was conceived as a result of an extramarital affair with Adolph while she was married to Harold. She stated that Adolph's name was not placed on respondent's birth certificate in order to avoid embarrassment and humiliation. Adolph died intestate in 2002. During his lifetime he had never married, nor sired any children other than respondent. At the time of his death, it was generally believed that decedent was survived only by his three brothers, who expected to inherit decedent's estate. These assumptions changed when D attended the funeral. P initiated intestate probate proceedings and filed a petition for formal adjudication of intestacy, determination of heirs, and appointment of personal representative. D subsequently filed his objection to the petition and asserted that he was the son of decedent and decedent's sole surviving heir. The district court appointed P as personal representative of the estate and otherwise found that decedent's heirs were 'not determined at this time.' D filed a petition to determine paternity under Minn. Stat. § 524.2-114(2) (2002) of the probate code. D submitted an envelope -- allegedly handled by decedent -- to a testing lab at Orchid GeneScreen for preliminary genetic testing. Both parties were made aware of the genetic-test results, which proved decedent's paternity to a 99.99% degree of certainty. The district court (1) removed P as personal representative of decedent's estate; (2) appointed D as personal representative of decedent's estate; and (3) ordered the exhumation of decedent's body for the purposes of further DNA genetic testing. The district court's order was appealed but was denied discretionary review of that portion of the appeal pertaining to exhumation of decedent. Decedent's body was exhumed, and genetic testing was performed. Based on those conclusive test results, the parties subsequently stipulated -- and the district court found -- that D is, in fact, the biological child of the decedent. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court granted D's motion for summary judgment and determined that D was the decedent's sole heir. This appeal follows.