‘Strangers’ to Get Half of Estate

A widow whose husband died without a will must share his property with his half siblings, even though he never knew of their existence, the California Supreme Court reluctantly decided Thursday.

The court ruled in the case of the late Denis H. Griswold, a Santa Barbara resident who was born out of wedlock and whose biological father paid child support for 18 years. The father and son never had any contact before they died, and Griswold only learned of him when he came across a birth certificate as an adult.

Griswold died without knowing that he also had two half siblings in Ohio. They, in turn, did not know about him until a professional “heir hunter” researching probate and birth records called them up and told them they could inherit some money.

Never mind the circumstances, the court said in a unanimous decision in Griswold vs. See, S087881. The law “provides in unmistakable language” that the half siblings are entitled to half of Griswold’s estate, estimated at $300,000, Justice Marvin R. Baxter wrote for the court.

Baxter questioned whether the Legislature intended such results in fashioning the probate code and noted that elected officials may want to change it.

Justice Janice Rogers Brown, in a separate opinion, implored the Legislature to act.

“I doubt most children born out of wedlock would have wanted to bequeath a share of their estate to a ‘father’ who never contacted them, never mentioned their existence to his family and friends, and only paid court-ordered child support,” Brown wrote.

“I doubt even more that these children would have wanted to bequeath a share of their estate to that father’s other offspring.”

“Finally,” she added, “I have no doubt that most, if not all, children born out of wedlock would have balked at bequeathing a share of their estate to a ‘forensic genealogist,’ ” as heir hunters call themselves.

Attorney Herb Fox, who represented heir hunter Francis V. See in the appeal, said See will collect a percentage of the half siblings’ share of the estate as a fee for his work. See’s trial lawyer, David C. Turpin, said the heir hunter could receive as much as one-third of the inheritance.

“This is a case where somebody calls you up and says, ‘You had a long-lost uncle or brother who has left you some money,’ ” Fox said. “It’s the kind of phone call everyone hopes to receive.”

Under the current law, relatives of a biological parent of a child can inherit from that child if the parent had acknowledged the child and contributed to his or her support.

The fact that Griswold’s biological father had admitted his paternity in court and paid child support was enough to meet the requirements, the court said.

“By blood at least, they are certainly close relatives,” Fox said. “By society, they were actual strangers.”

If Griswold had died with a will leaving his estate to his wife, the half siblings would not have been entitled to any inheritance, lawyers in the case said.

Lawrence T. Sorensen, who represented Griswold’s widow, Norma B. Doner-Griswold, said he was “very disappointed” by the court’s decision because Griswold clearly wanted his widow to receive his full inheritance. He said his client, who lives in Santa Barbara, is medically disabled.

Denis Griswold, who died in 1996, had for most of his life believed his father was Fred Griswold, whom his mother married in 1942. Sorensen said Griswold learned the truth only after his mother’s death in 1983, when he was going through her papers.

He saw the name of “somebody he had never heard of before” and didn’t want to think about it or investigate it, Sorensen said. At that time, the biological father, John Edward Draves, was dead.

Griswold’s widow would have inherited his entire estate if the couple had treated their assets as community property. The pair had lived together for many years and married several years before Griswold’s death.

They did not mingle their bank accounts or real estate because they felt the separation would protect each of them if the other suffered catastrophic health problems, Sorensen said.

Turpin said See is one of about a dozen heir hunters in California. He researches records and finds money for others in exchange for a cut for himself.

“It is a legitimate occupation,” Turpin said.

If someone dies without a will and has no wife or children, the nearest relatives inherit the property, he said. The first in line to collect are the parents, followed by siblings and nieces and nephews “until you get to fifth-cousins twice-removed,” Turpin said.

The lesson of the case? “It is always the better practice to make a will,” Fox said.