Kazian

*800 Opinion

Petitioner, executor of the will of Angelen Gendian Razian, filed a petition for a decree determining the interests in decedent’s estate. Its purpose was to determine whether decedent’s surviving husband, Onig (Bill) Razian, had forfeited his interest in the estate under a no-contest clause in the will. The probate court found that Razian had contested decedent’s disposition of her estate and that he was therefore entitled to take only the sum of $1 under the will. Razian appeals.

Facts

Decedent married Razian in October 1954, sometime after her first husband died. At the time, she owned property worth about $300,000. 1 She died in June 1969, leaving an estate of $1,300,000.

Decedent left a will which provided, as relevant:

*801 The will 2 was filed for probate in July 1969. In April 1970, Kazian filed a “Complaint to Establish Community Interest and for Money,” in which he alleged the existence of the will and that “all of said property in said estate is in fact community property and the plaintiff is entitled to one-half of all of the assets of the estate.”

In February 1973, after a court trial, judgment was entered against Kazian. The court found, in brief,…