In re Estate of Kinder6/12/1998
EVANS, Judge.
This is an appeal by Ralph Kinder, Jr. ("appellant") from a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Defiance County, Probate Division, removing him as administrator of Ralph L. Kinder, Sr.'s estate for the reason that appellant wasborn out of wedlock and could not establish himself as an heir of the deceased in accordance with Ohio law. We reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings.
In 1945, Regina K. Kinder, n.k.a. Regina Plylar ("appellee"), was born as a product of an intimate relationship between Ralph Kinder, Sr. and Helen Lee Jackson. The couple married in 1947 and filed for divorce ten years later. In 1957, the Wayne County, Michigan Circuit Court granted the divorce. It is undisputed that the divorce decree established a legal parent/child relationship between Ralph Kinder, Sr. and appellee.
Sometime in the mid-1950s, Ralph Kinder, Sr. began an intimate relationship with Nancy Lee Miller. Ralph Kinder, Jr. was born as an alleged product of that relationship on September 1, 1960, in Wayne County, Michigan. Although Ralph Kinder, Sr. and Miller never married, their relationship lasted until 1962.
In 1963, Miller brought a paternity action against Ralph Kinder, Sr. in Wayne County, Michigan, for the purpose of establishing a child support order. Pursuant to a settlement agreement entered into by the parties, the Wayne County Circuit Court ordered Ralph Kinder, Sr. to pay $1,200 to Miller plus an additional $100 per month until appellant reached the age of eighteen. In addition, a Michigan law in effect at the time allowed the parties to stipulate that the order would stay silent on the issue of parentage. The court subsequently approved the settlement agreement, stating, however, that it would not enter an order of filiation,
Ralph Kinder, Sr. continued to reside in Michigan until sometime in the early 1990s when he moved to Defiance County, Ohio, to be near an ailing relative. At all times relevant, appellant remained a resident of Wayne County, Michigan.
In the fall of 1996, Regina Plylar applied to the Court of Common Pleas of Defiance County, Probate Division, for guardianship over Ralph Kinder, Sr. for reasons of incompetency. The court granted a temporary guardianship pending a full hearing on the matter; however, the action was dismissed after Ralph Kinder, Sr. agreed to move with appellee to her home state of Alabama. Ralph Kinder, Sr. died intestate on March 7, 1997.
On March 12, 1997, appellant filed an application in the Common Pleas Court of Defiance County, Probate Division, to be named administrator of Ralph Kinder, Sr.'s estate. The court duly appointed Ralph Kinder, Jr. as administrator the same day. Approximately one month later, appellee filed a motion, pursuant to Civ. 12(B)(6), to remove appellant as administrator for the reason that he "lacks standing to assert any rights, by or on behalf of, Ralph Kinder, Sr." because a legal parent/child relationship was never established between appellant and Ralph Kinder, Sr. in accordance with Ohio law.
A pretrial conference was held on May 5, 1997. After considering the 1957 divorce decree and the 1963 child support order, the trial court determined that appellant should be dismissed as administrator and that appellee was Ralph Kinder, Sr.'s sole heir at law. Although the court rendered its decision on May 5, 1997, it was not journalized until June 4, 1997. Ralph Kinder, Jr. filed an appeal of that decision on July 3, 1997.
Prior to the issuance of the June 4, 1997 journal entry, appellant filed a motion requesting the Wayne County Circuit Court to clarify t
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