Newman v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

926 P.2d 969 (1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Helen died in December 1972. Her will, dated November 3, 1972, left the residue of her estate to a testamentary trust under which the income was to be paid to her six brothers and sisters, or on the death of any of them to that person's living 'issue' by right of representation. On the death of the last of the siblings, the trust estate was to be distributed per capita to the then living children of the siblings. The residue of the Lathrop estate was ordered distributed to Wells Fargo Bank, as trustee of the testamentary trust, in May1974. The trust, whose provisions parallel those of Lathrop's will, is administered by the trustee under the supervision of the San Francisco Superior Court. Jon E. Newman's natural father, Earl Mitchell, a brother of Helen Lathrop and an income beneficiary of the trust, died in 1993. Jon E. Newman had been adopted by his stepfather in 1946. In August 1993, the guardian ad litem of minor A. petitioned the superior court for an order attaching 25 percent of Jon E. Newman's share of the income of the Lathrop trust. The petition alleged that Newman was the defendant in an action pending in the State of Washington that the guardian and Newman had entered into a settlement agreement that had been approved by the court. Wells Fargo Bank, as trustee, filed a petition for advice and instructions pursuant to Probate Code section 17200. Their petition alleges that Newman had been adopted by his stepfather, W. E. Newman, in 1946, and asks if Newman was 'issue of' Earl Mitchell at the time of Mitchell's death. The petition also sought advice regarding the distribution to Newman of that part of the trust income that had been going to Mitchell. The superior court ruled that under former Probate Code section 257, the law in effect in 1972 when Helen Lathrop executed her will that Newman was not the child of Earl Mitchell for any purpose. The court ruled that subsequent changes to the statutes did not affect that interpretation since they were expressly inapplicable under the terms of section 6103. The court then found that Newman is not a beneficiary of the trust and directed that the trustee makes no distributions from the trust to or for the benefit of Newman or any creditor of Newman. The appeals court reversed. This appeal resulted.