Arnau v. Cochran, 44569

• Decision Date: 21 October 1987
• Docket Number: No. 44569,44569
• Citation: 361 S.E.2d 173,257 Ga. 550
• Parties: ARNAU et al. v. COCHRAN.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 173

361 S.E.2d 173

257 Ga. 550

ARNAU et al. v. COCHRAN.

No. 44569.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Oct. 21, 1987.

Reconsideration Denied Nov. 4, 1987.

Virgil C. Spence, Virgil C. Spence, P.C., Marietta, for plaintiff.

Hylton B. Dupree, Jr., Dupree & Staples, Marietta, A. Greg Poole, Mark A. Johnson, for defendant.

GREGORY, Justice.

Edgar Stanley Henry died October 26, 1982. Probate of his will was sought in the Probate Court of Cobb County. A caveat was filed by Elizabeth Arnau and others who are brothers and sisters of the deceased and his heirs at law. His wife predeceased him and he had no children. Grounds of the caveat were undue influence and lack of mental capacity to make a will. The probate court admitted the will to probate over the caveat. ¹ The caveators appealed to the superior court where summary judgment ² was granted to propounder. That judgment was appealed to this court. We affirm.

The record shows that testator served in the Army Air Corps in World War II where he received certain injuries for which he later obtained psychiatric treatment through the Veterans Administration. In February of 1965 and June of 1966 testator was evaluated by Dr. Lawrence T. Brannon, a psychiatrist. His diagnosis was that testator suffered from "... schizophrenic reaction, schizo-affective type, manifested by severe depression, agitation and thinking impairment." Dr. Brannon did not consider testator to be able at that time to manage his financial affairs and concluded that it was likely his condition was total and permanent. But, the doctor declined to predict what his future condition would be and he noted testator was lucid enough to furnish his occupational and medical history. It is the testimony of Dr. Brannon upon which caveators primarily rely in their challenge as to testator's mental capacity. Dr. Brannon did not treat testator nor did he have any further contact with him after June 1966.

The will was executed on February 6, 1978. In the interval since evaluation by Dr. Brannon testator was under the care of two other doctors. Dr. Talbert Williams, an internist, along with associates saw testator on occasions from December 1976 until February 6, 1978, the day preceding the execution of the will. Dr. Williams testified that testator's schizophrenia was in complete remission due to treatment, that he was functioning normally and able to attend to his affairs. Dr. Charles Preacher, a psychiatrist, saw testator at a Veterans Administration out-patient clinic from 1970 until he died in 1982 at intervals from two to six months apart. He considered testator to be lucid with logical and coherent thought processes and with no mental deficiency. While he suffered from anxiety there were no symptoms of a schizophrenic condition.

The medical testimony of Dr. Brannon based upon testator's condition a dozen or more years before the execution of the will is completely overcome by testimony of Drs. Williams and Preacher. They explained that testator's condition was in remission due to treatment. Thus there is no medical evidence testator was rendered incompetent to make a will in 1978 by a condition which existed in 1965 and 1966.

A number of lay witnesses were deposed but a careful examination of their testimony fails to reveal any evidence of lack of mental capacity to make a will on February 7, 1978. Their testimony indicated testator had quirks, rambled a lot and repeated himself in conversations, did not get along with others well, wanted sympathy, sometimes got befuddled, did not seem to think straight about some things,...