Beman v. Stembridge, 18787

• Decision Date: 10 January 1955
• Docket Number: No. 18787,18787
• Parties: BEMAN et al. v. STEMBRIDGE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 434

85 S.E.2d 434

211 Ga. 274

BEMAN et al. v. STEMBRIDGE.

No. 18787.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Jan. 10, 1955.

Syllabus by the Court.

1. The administrator of the estate of Marion W. Stembridge was not a party to the probate proceedings in the court below, and is not an indispensable party in this court to the review of the judgment denying probate. Continental Trust Co. v. Sabine Basket Co., 165 Ga. 591, 141 S.E. 664; Hicks v. Atlanta Trust Co., 187 Ga. 314, 200 S.E.2d 301; Cantrell v. Kaylor, 203 Ga. 157, 45 S.E.2d 646. The motion of the administrator of the testator's estate to dismiss the writ of error because he was not made a party to the writ of error is denied.

2. The evidence of the subscribing witnesses was sufficient to make out a prima facie case of testamentary capacity upon the part of the testator to make a valid will; and where there was nothing in the evidence produced by the caveatrix which would have authorized a finding in her favor upon any of her contentions as contained in the caveat, the trial court should have granted the motion of the propounders to set aside the verdict and judgment in favor of the caveatrix and entered a judgment in accordance with the motion for a directed verdict. Accordingly, direction is given to enter a verdict and judgment in favor of the propounders.

Marion W. Stembridge executed a will on January 8, 1951, and died on May 2, 1953. His wife, Sara J. Stembridge, was his only heir at law. Mrs. Mildred Beman, Edward Beman, and Thelma Stembridge filed for probate in solemn form, in the Court of Ordinary of Baldwin County, the above will in which the testator named Mr. and Mrs. Beman as his executors, and in which he bequeathed one dollar to his wife, made provision for named employees, and left the residuum of his estate to his sister, Thelma Stembridge.

Mrs. Marion W. (Sara J.) Stembridge filed a caveat on the grounds that at the time the will was executed: (1) the deceased was not of sound and disposing mind and memory; (2) the testator was suffering from monomania or insane delusions toward the caveatrix, in that he believed she was trying to poison him or kill him with X-rays in order to get control of his money and property; (3) the testator suffered from monomania and thought his wife was trying to get his money, and his will was the result of and connected with his monomania; (4) the testator was laboring under a mistake of fact in that he thought his wife did not love him and was against him which was not true; and (5) that, after the execution of the will, the testator made material changes and alterations with the intention to revoke the same and did revoke the instrument.

To an adverse ruling in the Court of Ordinary the propounders appealed to Baldwin Superior Court. On the trial in the superior court, George M. Nottingham, a subscribing witness, testified in part for the propounders: He was a practicing attorney in Macon. The testator came to witness's office in January, 1951, and asked him to witness his will. He had seen the testator several times but never talked to him except once before, which was two or three years before the will was executed. All the subscribing witnesses were in the office. Testator signed the will and the three witnesses signed it. They were in the testator's presence and he was in their presence and were in the presence of each other. The testator told the witnesses that the paper was his will. To the best of witness's ability the testator was of sound mind at the time. The will was a single sheet of paper and nothing was attached to it.

Mrs. Ethel M. Perdue, a subscribing witness, testified: She saw the testator sign the paper. All of the witnesses were in the room at the time they witnessed the will. They signed in the presence of each other and in the presence of the testator. At the time the testator was apparently of sound mind.

Harry E. Nottingham, a subscribing witness, testified: He was an attorney in Macon and witnessed the signature of the testator. Each of the witnesses signed the paper in the presence of each other and in the presence of the testator. The testator requested all of them to witness his signature to his will. In witness's opinion the testator was of sound mind.

Following the testimony of the subscribing witnesses, the propounders introduced the will in evidence.

Dr. Edwin Allen, who operated Allen's Institution, testified for the caveatrix: In November, 1933, the testator was disturbed mentally and was treated two weeks in witness's institution. Testator has delusional ideas that people were trying to hurt him by putting poison in his food or medicine, and he involved his sister, Mrs. Leon Callaway, and the local doctor. At times the testator had hallucinations that people were shooting X-rays into his genital organs. He came to Allen's Institution voluntarily and was quiet and orderly for a while. Then he barricaded himself in his room and they had trouble getting his meals to him. Witness ate part of the food to demonstrate it was not poisoned, after which the testator ate. His condition improved and he got tranquil. He was in a panic state, which is more or less a temporary type of reaction. In November, 1942, the sheriff brought the testator, who had been placed in jail on a peace warrant and a lunacy warrant, to Allen's Institution and instructed witness to keep him until he called for him. Witness considered testator psychotic or suffering from mental illness. Money was important to him. He operated his business while he was a patient. The last time he was doing a brokerage business and he carried that on. He was not suffering from monomania about his money, but had delusional ideas on other subjects, particularly the idea that someone was trying to harm him. He was in a fear state. When his fears subsided to where he was fairly tranquil, he left the hospital. The last time witness saw the testator professionally was in 1942.

Mrs. Marion W. (Sara J.) Stembridge, the caveatrix, testified: She and the testator were married in August, 1947, and separated in July, 1949. In 1948 they were on a visit to her old home in South Georgia. Witness had not been back since her mother was buried in August, and asked testator to stop at the cemetery. He said he had to get back because he was losing important money. When questioned he became very angry, saying he was building a cathedral and if he built it strong they would not need friends, if you had money you had friends, money was your best friend. On their return home testator began to tell witness of Mrs. Callaway and Roger Stembridge trying to poison him so they could get his money, and that she was not to have anything to do with them. That witness was testator's protection and as long as he had a wife they could not get his property. Any associations witness had with testator's family upset him greatly. He admonished witness frequently not to have anything to do with Mrs. Callaway, Roger Stembridge, and Miss Stembridge. Shortly thereafter testator shot a Negro woman, thus making it necessary for witness to be associated with his family. He was still very much upset and under the fears and delusions that they were against him and that witness expected to send him to prison so she could get his property. He left witness after the trial but she was in touch with him on January 7th and 8th, 1951, and right along. He still persisted in the delusion that witness was part of a conspiracy to get his money. Testator was upset about the trial and wanted witness to get out of the house. When testator did not get a new trial, he accused witness of interfering with his case and trying to send him to prison. He told her she would never get a penny of his money. Testator never ate with witness down town in Milledgeville. They went in a restaurant one time and ordered dinner, but he never touched it. At that time he ate everything that came in cans. He never drank any water or ate anything witness gave him. He did eat with her a time or two when they were first married. From time to time witness loaned testator about $17,000, some of which was paid back before and some after the separation, and $4,000 has not been repaid. From witness's contact with testator over the telephone on January 8, 1951, he was laboring under the delusion that she was trying to do him harm in his trial and in his business. From 1948 until testator's death in 1953, based on witness's contact with him over the telephone, his condition was progressively worse. Shortly after testator left witness, she found double rows of sheet lead between double rows of slats on the side of the bed where he slept, and found films between the mattress and spring underneath the pad. Witness did not give testator any reason to believe she was trying to take his money. She worked for him constantly in the business and did everything she could to help him. At the time the will was executed, the employees referred to therein were not working for the testator.

On cross-examination, the caveatrix testified she could not swear she talked to testator over the telephone January 6th or 7th or maybe the 8th. In January, 1951, testator was having witness's house painted, and was suffering with a delusion that a Negro painter was stealing his paint. Witness called testator when the painter was going to quit, and testator accused her of interfering with the painter. The painting of the house was finished in the summer of 1951. After testator and witness had been separated about four years, witness filed suit for divorce, in which she sought to recover the $4,000 that had not been paid back to her. She was supporting herself and was in trouble and felt she was entitled to it.

W. S. Cox, a former bailiff, testified: About 1949 the testator was in the loan business and witness handled many papers for him in the justice of the peace court. On one occasion after the testator obtained a judgment...