Estate of Barrow CA2/1

BACKGROUND

I. Facts of the case

At her death in 2008, Barrow was a widow and had no surviving parents. She had no close friends. She had distant relatives but did not like or want anything to do with them. She had no interaction with her family and felt they had taken advantage of her. For example, DeMille is a first cousin, once removed, and had no contact with Barrow for many decades before she died. DeMille was one of many relatives about whom Barrow

2 complained. The chronology below discusses how Barrow met O’Neill and Sorrentino as well as key facts concerning Barrow’s health and estate planning efforts. In 1978, Barrow (then age 62) and her husband met O’Neill (age 22) and her husband while vacationing in Yosemite. O’Neill and her husband worked at the hotel where the Barrows lodged. The four socialized together during the O’Neill’s off hours. Over the years, Barrow sent gifts to O’Neill and her family. In 1995, Barrow (age 77) hired Sorrentino to complete some construction work on her house. After completion of that project, he continued to work on other construction projects as requested by Barrow and assumed increasing responsibilities for daily personal tasks…