Jacobs-Zorne v. Superior Court

In Jacobs-Zorne v. Superior Court (1996) 46 Cal.App.4th 1064, 1077 the decedent's widow filed a petition in the probate of her deceased husband's estate to determine the character of certain bank accounts. The couple had executed a prenuptial agreement that provided that their separate property would remain separate after marriage unless there was a valid writing changing its nature. However, after marriage the husband transferred some of his separate property to bank accounts with his wife as joint tenant. The widow's petition asked the court to determine whether those accounts were joint tenancy or decedent's separate property. ( Jacobs-Zorne, supra, 46 Cal.App.4th at p. 1069.) The other beneficiaries argued that the petition violated the no contest clause in the will. The court held that the widow's petition did not challenge the validity of the will or any of its provisions and was not a contest. ( Id. at p. 1078.) The holding in Jacobs-Zorne turned in large part on the fact that the decedent had not forced his beneficiaries to an election. ( Jacobs-Zorne, supra, 46 Cal.App.4th at p. 1082.) In his will the decedent did not purport to characterize and dispose of specific property. He merely stated that he was disposing of that which was his. (Ibid.) Thus, under the terms of the will, if the property had been joint tenancy, it was not subject to the will. The widow's right to the bank accounts, if she had any, was "independent" of the will. This is in contrast to the situation where a decedent specifies the property of which he or she intends to dispose. In that case, the assertion by a beneficiary of an "independent right" to the specific property is a challenge to the validity of that provision of the instrument.