Estate of Goick
Montana Supreme Court
909 P.2d 1165, 275 Mont. 13 (1996)
- Written by Mary Pfotenhauer, JD
Facts
Michael and Barbara Goick were married and had three children together. Michael and Barbara filed for divorce. During a hearing before the court, Michael and Barbara reached an oral settlement agreement, but later refused to sign a written settlement agreement. The court never entered a final order of divorce. Michael then died, and the divorce proceedings were dismissed. Barbara (plaintiff) initiated a probate action and petitioned for appointment as personal representative, as Michael’s surviving spouse. Michael’s mother, brother, and sister (defendants) objected, arguing that Barbara was not Michael’s surviving spouse because Michael and Barbara’s divorce hearing purported to terminate their marital property rights. The district court granted summary judgment in Barbara’s favor, finding that she was Michael’s surviving spouse, and appointed her as personal representative of the estate. Michael’s mother, brother, and sister appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Erdmann, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
