The Volokh Conspiracy
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There Ought to Be a Country / Western Song About This
The father's heirs "dispute the distribution of a 1978 Ford pickup truck."
From Estate of Kemmer, decided today by the Montana Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Beth Baker:
The surviving adult children of decedent Ronald Glen Kemmer—Travis, Becky,
Collette, and Ronda—dispute the distribution of a 1978 Ford pickup truck ….
"Evidence shows … several Heirs had sentimental attachment" to the pickup:
Ronda and Collette testified that at the August 2019 gathering [three months after Ronald Kemmer's death] there was an offer from the PR [the Personal Representative of the Estate, namely Travis,] to Collette to purchase the truck for $10,000, which would be deducted from her share of the estate. The Heirs dispute whether they reached agreement about the disposition of the truck. They submitted various e-mail and text messages between them to support their respective positions. All agree, however, that no written agreement for Collette to purchase the truck for $10,000 was made or signed at the August 2019 gathering.
When the disposition of the truck had not been resolved, the PR held an auction among the Heirs. Collette and Becky both bid on the truck; Collette submitted the highest bid of $21,120. Because Collette then failed to timely respond to the PR on the potential distribution, however, the PR distributed the truck to Becky for the second highest bid amount of $21,000. After Becky made payment, the PR made final distribution of the truck to Becky and filed a verified petition to close the Estate.
Collette and Ronda petitioned the District Court to remove Travis as the personal representative and to void the PR's distribution of the truck to Becky.
The District Court voided the distribution, though without removing Travis as PR:
The Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that Travis, as PR, breached his fiduciary duty to Collette by failing to honor the agreement made between Travis and all of the heirs on August 10, 2019 that Collette would receive the 1978 Ford pickup for $10,000.00 to be paid from Collette's share of the Estate.
No, said the Montana Supreme Court:
We reverse the District Court's order. There was no written contract pursuant to
§ 72-3-915(1), MCA, and the PR had no duty to prepare one.
And, speaking of the blog post title, here's ChatGPT-4's entry in the song contest:
(Verse 1) In a dusty town, the story unfolds,
Four siblings' tale, as the saga goes.
Travis, Becky, Collette, and Ronda, names we'll recollect,
At the heart of their feud, a 1978 Ford, an heirloom to protect.(Chorus) It's more than metal, more than rust,
In that old Ford truck, lay their father's trust.
A memory on wheels, with a story to tell,
In the battle for the truck, family bonds fell.(Verse 2) Collette, she offered ten grand, a fair price in her eyes,
But her siblings couldn't agree, as tensions did rise.
The truck, a symbol of their dad, Ronald Kemmer's touch,
Each held memories dear, each loved it so much.(Chorus)
Here was my prompt:
Write a country / western song on the following topic: The surviving adult children of Ronald Kemmer—Travis, Becky, Collette, and Ronda—dispute the distribution of a 1978 Ford pickup truck. Evidence shows several Heirs had sentimental attachment. Collette offered to purchase the truck for $10,000. The Heirs dispute whether they reached agreement about the disposition of the truck. When the disposition of the truck had not been resolved, an auction was held among the Heirs. Collette and Becky both bid on the truck; Becky won the account for $21,000. Collette and Ronda petitioned the court to void the distribution of the truck to Becky.
Can't say I much care for the ChatGPT-written song, but can't say I could do better, either.
