Bennett v. Forrest
24 Cal. 2d 485 ·
Supreme Court of California · Filed
Published · citable
Cited by 1
Holding
The court held that a probate court, in a decree of distribution, possesses ancillary jurisdiction to determine the validity and effect of a property settlement agreement on a testator's will, and that such a decree, once final, operates as res judicata on all issues necessarily decided therein, barring a subsequent independent equity action seeking to impose a constructive trust on the distributed assets.