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Estate of Mowry
California Court of Appeal
107 Cal. App. 4th 338 (2003)
Facts
Paul Mowry adopted Toni Mowry (plaintiff) as a minor after he married Toni’s mother. According to Toni, she and Paul had a close relationship up until Paul’s death. However, 16 years after adopting Toni, Paul executed a will that left his entire estate to his brother, Joe Mowry (defendant). After Paul’s death, Toni claimed that Paul had unintentionally left her out of his will and that she was entitled to a portion of his estate. Toni had no evidence that Paul had omitted her accidentally. Instead, Toni argued that the pretermitted-child statute should be read as creating a presumption that Paul’s failure to include her in his will was unintentional. The probate court denied Toni’s claim and distributed the entire estate to Joe. Toni appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Hastings, J.)
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