Estate of Gonzalez

Rosalinda Gonzalez Cortez, Enedina Gonzalez Marquez, and Roy Gonzalez, the three full siblings of Jorge Gonzalez, filed a petition to enforce a no-contest clause in their father’s will against Jorge. The trial court granted the petition, which was denominated a “petition to determine entitlement to estate distribution to Jorge Gonzalez because he violated the will’s forfeiture clause.” Jorge appeals from the trial court’s order granting the petition. We shall affirm.

Facts

Jose Inez Gonzalez died on March 30, 1998, at the age of 81. He left 12 children, ranging in age from 18 to 66, some living in the United States, some in Mexico, some legitimate, some not. He owned real property in Mexico and in San Jose. In 1992, the decedent wrote a will dividing his estate equally among the four children bom of his marriage to Carmen Garza Gonzalez, to wit: Enedina, Rosalinda, Roy and Jorge. The 1992 will named Jorge, the youngest of the four and a sergeant with the San Jose Police Department, as the executor of his father’s estate. The will also contained a no contest clause, providing: “If any beneficiary under this Will in any manner, directly or indirectly, contests or attacks…