Keller-Minus v. Pakston

Summary

The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of Isabelle Keller-Minus’s petition seeking to void her father’s 1969 marriage. The Court held that, under 13 Del. C. § 101(b), only the innocent spouse had standing to challenge the marriage based on insufficient documentation of a prior divorce. The Court further held that Keller-Minus’s petition was untimely under 13 Del. C. § 1506 because it was filed decades after her father’s death and estate settlement.

Holdings

1. Section 101(b) grants standing only to the innocent party to the purportedly voidable marriage, meaning the spouse who was allegedly deceived or otherwise entitled to repudiate the marriage; a child of either spouse lacks standing under that provision.
2. Although § 1506(b)(4) permits a child of either spouse to seek annulment of a marriage voidable under § 101, Keller-Minus's petition was untimely because it was filed more than thirty years after Peter's death and she alleged no facts showing that his estate administration or distribution remained open.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a child of one spouse has standing under 13 Del. C. § 101(b) to seek to void a marriage based on insufficient documentation of the other spouse's prior divorce.
2. Whether Keller-Minus's petition was timely under 13 Del. C. § 1506(b)(4), which permits a child of either spouse to seek annulment of a marriage voidable under § 101 only within specified periods tied to the death or estate administration of either spouse.

Disposition

affirmed