On April 21, 2009, a petition for probate of will and to grant letters of administration was filed in the Montgomery County Probate Court. Attached to the petition were waivers from two of the decedent's nine children. On June 16, 2009, the probate court held a formal hearing. The other seven children received proper notice of this hearing. After the hearing, the probate court issued letters of administration to the Ed Parish, Jr. (the administrator of the estate).
On December 16, 2009, the plaintiff filed a petition contesting the will in the Montgomery County Circuit Court. The petition maintained that the decedent's will was not properly executed and that the decedent was not of sound mind when she executed the will. The administrator moved to dismiss the suit because (1) the plaintiff had already contested the will before the probate court and (2) she had not appealed the probate court's decision within the proper time limit. The circuit court ruled in favor of the administrator.
The plaintiff appealed to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, which reversed the circuit court's decision. The appeals court explained that, under Alabama law, a will may be contested in two ways: (1) before probate, in the probate court pursuant to Alabama Code § 43-8-190 and (2) after probate, in the circuit court, pursuant to Alabama Code § 43-8-199, provided that the plaintiff has not previously contested the will before the probate court. In the second case, the will contest must be started within 6 months after the letters of administration are granted. Although the administrator maintained that the plaintiff had contested the will during the probate court proceedings, the administrator provided no supporting evidence for this contention. (There was no recording made of the probate court's hearing, and no attorney represented the plaintiff in the hearing before the probate court.) See Stone v. Parish, decided on March 25, 2011.
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