In re Estate of Oaks

David Oaks and Lynne Stouff (defendant), unmarried, cohabitated during the last 10 years of their 23-year romantic relationship. Oaks had one estranged adult daughter, Cheri Wardell (plaintiff), from a prior relationship. On March 7, 2018, Oaks wrote two handwritten notes, one gifting all his worldly possessions to Stouff, and the other a personal note to Stouff about the gift. On March 8, Oaks died by suicide. Stouff found the notes on the downstairs table when she came down to investigate the sound of the gunshot that killed Oaks. Oaks died intestate, and Wardell was his only child. Wardell filed a formal administration petition for Oaks’s estate and was appointed the estate’s (plaintiff) representative. Stouff filed a claim against the estate and moved for summary judgment, contending she was entitled to the entirety of the estate pursuant to the doctrine of gift causa mortis. Stouff presented evidence that Oaks was a Vietnam War veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for which he was actively receiving treatment, but which caused him physical and mental suffering. Oaks’s death certificate listed the cause of death as a “self-inflicting gunshot wound to head . . . [d]ue to or as a consequence of ‘depression.’” The fact that Oaks made his gift to Stouff in contemplation of his death was undisputed. The estate countered, arguing that a gift causa mortis could not occur in the context of suicide because suicide was not a present illness or external danger. The circuit court granted Stouff’s motion for summary judgment, and the estate appealed.