Foiles v. Whittman

I. Introduction

Petitioner Larry Foiles ("Foiles") appeals the court of appeals' judgment in In re Estate of Whittman, 220 P.3d 961 (Colo.App.2009). The court of appeals held that the trial court erred by not permitting respondent Deanna Whittman to make a claim for an exempt property allowance in her capacity as personal representative for the estate of her mother, Lily Whittman. Id. at 965. We agree with the court of appeals that the right to an exempt property allowance automatically vested in Lily Whittman when she survived her husband, and thus the right passed to her estate when she…