Cook v. Grierson, 380 Md. 502

Summary

The Maryland Court of Appeals held that grandchildren could not inherit from their grandfather's intestate estate because their father, the victim's living son, was disqualified under the Slayer's Rule but had not legally predeceased the victim. The court concluded that Maryland's intestacy statute excludes the lineal descendants of a living lineal descendant from the definition of issue. The court declined to adopt a judicial fiction treating the slayer as having predeceased the victim and affirmed the judgment below.

Holdings

1. The grandchildren could not inherit. Maryland's intestacy statute defines issue to exclude a lineal descendant of a living lineal descendant, and the Slayer's Rule bars persons claiming through or under the slayer from sharing in the victim's estate.
2. The court would not judicially treat Charles as having predeceased Frederick. Any change to Maryland's intestate succession scheme to permit a slayer's children to inherit must come from the General Assembly.
3. The grandchildren could not recover under a constructive-trust theory because the slayer never acquired a beneficial interest in the victim's estate, leaving no interest to be held in trust.
4. The grandchildren did not have an independent claim. Unlike the insurance beneficiaries in Diep, they had no contractual or other source of entitlement apart from their asserted inheritance through Charles.

Questions Presented

1. Whether grandchildren may inherit from an intestate decedent when their father, the decedent's living son, is disqualified from inheriting under Maryland's Slayer's Rule.
2. Whether the court should treat the slayer as having predeceased the victim for purposes of Maryland's intestate succession statute.
3. Whether the grandchildren could inherit under a constructive-trust theory or on an independent basis analogous to contingent beneficiaries in an insurance policy.

Disposition

affirmed