M Civ JI 178.01 Pretermitted Heirs: Defining Legal Names of Parties and Counsel (EPIC)

This is a proceeding to determine whether [ name of child / name of surviving spouse ] is entitled to a certain share of [ name of decedent ]’s estate.

The person seeking the share of the decedent [ name of decedent ]’s estate is called the petitioner. The petitioner is [ state name and indicate where seated ]. The attorney for the petitioner is [ state attorney’s name and indicate where seated ]. The person who claims that [ name of child / name of surviving spouse ] is not entitled to the share of [ name of decedent ]’s estate is called the respondent. The respondent is [ state respondent’s name and indicate where seated ]. A respondent is one who responds to a petition. The attorney for the respondent is [ state attorney’s name and indicate where seated ]. [ If any other persons are at the counsel table, identify them and describe their function ].

Note on Use

In pretermitted heirs cases in which the provisions of the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC) apply, this instruction should be substituted for M Civ JI 1.02.

If the estate is the petitioner on a petition for determination of heirs, this instruction, the remaining pretermitted heirs instructions, and verdict forms must be modified.

History

M Civ JI 178.01 was added April 1, 2002.​