Lucas v. Tayrien, 207 Okla. 401

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court held that an alleged heir's petition for distribution was premature because it was filed before the executrix's final account and petition for distribution. Because the heirship claim was disputed, the county court lacked authority to make a final determination of heirship during partial distribution; the order was therefore nonfinal and nonappealable, and the appeal was dismissed.

Holdings

1. The petition was premature because it was filed before the executrix's final account and petition for distribution and did not comply with the statutory provisions governing an omitted heir's claim.
2. When the right of an alleged heir to inherit is disputed, the county court may not determine heirship in a partial-distribution proceeding because such a determination would not be final.
3. The order was not a final judgment or an appealable order because the purported determination of heirship was void and did not affect a substantial right of the parties.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Emma Lucas's petition asserting an omitted-heir right to distribution was premature because it was filed before the final account and petition for distribution.
2. Whether a county court may finally determine disputed heirship in a proceeding for partial distribution.
3. Whether the county court's order sustaining the motion to dismiss was a final, appealable judgment.

Disposition

dismissed