Estate of Pittman

Val and Donna Pittman entered into a trust agreement in 1993. After their deaths, Donna’s children, Susan and Bradford Lee, filed a petition (Lee petition) regarding the trust. Val’s children, Janis and Mark Pittman, filed an application for a determination that the Lee petition constituted a contest, seeking enforcement of the no contest clause. The trial court found the Lee petition was a contest. The Lees appeal, raising numerous challenges to the trial court’s decision.

Facts and Proceedings

Val and Donna Pittman were married on March 6, 1981. Their marriage did not produce any children; however, Donna had two children from a prior marriage, Susan and Bradford Lee, and Val had three children, Janis, Mark and Barry Pittman.

Val and Donna (settlors) entered into the “Val Pittman and Donna Pittman 1993 Trust” on December 9, 1993. The trust estate was comprised of all the property listed and described on schedule A. The trust property from schedule A was divided into three schedules—schedules B, C and D. The settlors declared that all property listed on schedule B was their community property, all property on schedule C was Val’s separate property, and all property on…