SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has denied a claim in the probate proceedings of the estate of former CNMI Judge Herbert D. Soll.
Judge Camacho, in a nine-page order on Dec. 17, 2024, granted the estate’s motion to dismiss the claim of the Estate of Gloria Monzon Sine.
The Estate of Sine claimed that Soll’s personal bank account held $20,015 of Sine Estate funds in his capacity as the Sine Estate’s executor.
The Soll Estate filed a motion to dismiss the Sine Estate’s claim because it was untimely and not reasonably ascertainable as a known creditor.
The Sine Estate argued that a notice of claim had been filed in Sept. 2022 within the 60-day deadline.
The Sine Estate also said that it was a known or ascertainable creditor deserving of actual notice through personal delivery or mail, not through the published notice to creditors on Aug. 10, 2022.
Judge Camacho finds that the Sine Estate did not file a timely notice of claim within the 60-day deadline.
A handwritten letter with an accompanying email exhibit filed in the Sine Estate in Sept. 2022 by Asuncion Monzon Lorange sought help to close her sister’s probate.
But the “handwritten letter with an accompanying email exhibit was not filed as a claim against the Estate of Herbert Donald Soll,” Judge Camacho said.
He also finds that the Sine Estate’s assertion as a known or reasonably ascertainable creditor lacks factual sufficiency, as there is no evidence that the Soll Estate’s executrix, Lisa Dawn Wilson, through diligent efforts, would have ascertained that Soll’s personal bank account may have been holding Sine Estate funds.
Background
On Aug. 13, 2019, Gloria Sine died testate (with a valid will) on Saipan.
On Feb. 20, 2020, Soll filed a petition for probate of will, appointment of executor, and letters testamentary for the Sine Estate in Superior Court.
On June 22, 2020, Soll was appointed as executor of the Sine Estate.
On July 6, 2022, he died in Hawaii.
On Aug. 8, 2022, the petition for letters testamentary was filed for the Estate of Herbert Donald Soll in Civil Action 22-0173.
On Aug. 10, 2022, the Soll Estate published its notice to creditors.
On Sept. 30, 2022, a handwritten letter with an accompanying email exhibit was filed in the Sine Estate probate action. Asuncion Monzon Lorange had emailed Rose Camacho, an employee of the CNMI judiciary, to inquire about her sister Gloria’s probate after Soll died.
On Dec. 28, 2022, Lisa Dawn Wilson was appointed as the executrix for the Soll Estate. She is Soll’s daughter
On April 12, 2023, attorney Shelli Neal replaced Soll as the executrix of the Sine Estate.
On Oct. 18, 2023, the Sine Estate filed a notice of claim against the Soll Estate claiming Soll collected $20,015 for the Sine Estate in his capacity as the Sine Estate executor.
On Oct. 31, 2023, the Soll Estate filed a notice of disapproval of claim, saying that the notice to creditors was published on Aug. 10, 2022, and the Sine Estate’s claim was over a year past the 60-day deadline for creditors to file a claim against an estate.
On May 31, 2024, the Soll Estate filed a motion to dismiss the Sine Estate’s claim, saying it was time-barred.
The notice to creditors for the Soll Estate was published on Aug. 10, 2022. The Sine Estate filed its claim on Oct. 18, 2023.
According to the Soll Estate, the Rules of Probate Procedure require creditors to file a notice of claim within 60 days of publication, but the Sine Estate’s claim was filed over a year past the deadline, making it untimely. The Soll Estate added that the Sine Estate was not entitled to actual notice because its claim was not known or reasonably ascertainable by the executrix of the Soll Estate.
On Aug. 3, 2024, the Sine Estate filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss its claim, saying that under Rule 11, actual notice must be given to creditors whose identity and whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable by the executrix.
The Sine Estate said it was “a reasonably ascertainable creditor because Lisa, as the Executrix for the Soll Estate, would have gained information regarding her deceased father’s estate, including assets, business activities, bank accounts, etc., from [Soll’s] widow, who was aware that [Soll] was the attorney for the ongoing Sine probate case.”
The Sine Estate said it was “reasonable and foreseeable that a practicing attorney would have client funds held in trust at any given time.”
The Sine Estate said if the Soll executrix had checked Soll’s business accounts or searched his name in FileandServeXpress, the executrix would have seen Soll’s active cases including the Sine Estate’s probate action.
On Oct. 24, 2024, the court held a motion/evidentiary hearing. No witnesses testified and no exhibits were admitted.
