Anderson v. Tinsley

Opinion

GILBERT, P. J.

In probate matters, justice can be illusive if not absent. In Estate of Shellenbarger (2008) 169 Cal.App.4th 894 [86 Cal.Rptr.3d 862], we acknowledged our obligation to follow the law of succession even when we believed to do so was unfair. We had no choice in light of our Supreme Court’s admonition that it is vain for the courts to argue against the injustice of statutory rules governing the law of succession. (Estate of De Cigaran (1907) 150 Cal. 682, 688 [89 P. 833].)

But in the case we decide here, the Probate Code itself gives the probate judge discretion to reach a…