Graham v. Youngblood
Graham v. Youngblood
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I dissent upon the same considerations as set out in my dissent in Poulos v. McMahan, 250 Ga. 354 (297 SE2d 451) (1985).
Opinion of the Court
Ernest Youngblood died intestate on November 28, 1978. He was survived by his widow, Sue Youngblood, who was tried for and acquitted of his murder. Claiming that she was Ernest Youngblood’s natural daughter, Evelyn Graham filed for letters of administration. Her application was granted. Sue Youngblood appealed to superior court and moved for summary judgment on the ground that as the surviving spouse she was entitled to be appointed administratrix. OCGA § 53-6-24 (a). The superior court remanded the case to probate court for an evidentiary determination of whether Sue Youngblood was Ernest’s lawful wife at the time of his death, and if so whether she was disqualified as administratrix by virtue of being currently incarcerated, or unable to inherit from Ernest by virtue of having killed him with malice aforethought.
On remand, the parties stipulated that Sue Youngblood was Ernest Youngblood’s wife at the time of his death and that Evelyn was not legitimated by court order during Ernest’s lifetime. The probate court reversed its earlier determination that there was sufficient evidence that Evelyn was Ernest’s natural daughter to allow her to be appointed administratrix and found that she was not his natural
Evelyn Graham does not argue on appeal that she is the legitimate daughter of Ernest Youngblood.
Judgment affirmed.
Pretermitting the question of retroactivity, we note that the facts here are not sufficient to support a claim of virtual legitimation under Prince v. Black, 256 Ga. 79 (344 SE2d 411) (1986).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- GRAHAM v. YOUNGBLOOD
- Status
- Published