Guidry v. Hardy

Decision Date12 November 1971
Docket NumberNo. 3522,3522
Citation254 So.2d 675
PartiesLeroy A. GUIDRY, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Doug A. HARDY and Ruth A. Guidry, Defendants-Appellants.
CourtCourt of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Hall, Raggio & Farrar, Richard A. Chozen, Lake Charles, for defendants-appellants.

Camp, Carmouche, Palmer, Carwile & Barsh, Edwin K. Hunter and Edward M. Carmouche, Lake Charles, for plaintiff-appellee.

Before SAVOY, HOOD and CULPEPPER, JJ.

HOOD, Judge.

Plaintiff, Leroy A. Guidry, Jr., instituted this suit for judgment decreeing a document purporting to be the last will and testament of Leroy A. Guidry, Sr., to be null and void. The defendants are the decedent's widow, Ruth A. Guidry, and her son by a prior marriage, Doug A. Hardy (sometimes referred to as Doug A. Guidry). Judgment was rendered by the trial court decreeing the will to be invalid, and declaring a partition agreement entered into by the decedent and his first wife, Mrs. Frank H. Guidry, to be a transfer for adequate consideration. Defendants appealed, and plaintiff has answered the appeal.

The questions presented are: (1) Should this proceeding be stayed pending final determination of a related suit in California? (2) Is the will valid as to form? (3) Are the parties entitled to relief by declaratory judgment? (4) Is the will invalid because of lack of testamentary capacity or undue influence? (5) Is probation of the will precluded because it is contra bonos mores? (6) Is the will invalid, or should there be a reduction, on the ground that the bequests exceed the disposable portion of the testator's estate?

Leroy A. Guidry, Sr., died in California, the state of his domicile, on August 13, 1969. His closest surviving relatives are his widow, Ruth A. Guidry, and his only child, Leroy A. Guidry, Jr., the latter being the issue of a prior marriage.

The decedent was first married to Mrs. Frank H. Guidry. One child, Leroy A. Guidry, Jr., was born of that union. The deceased and Frank H. Guidry were divorced by judgment rendered by a Nevada court on October 13, 1954. A few days after that divorce was granted the decedent married Ruth A. Guidry, one of the defendants in this suit, and he remained married to her until his death in 1969 . No children were born of that union. Ruth A. Guidry had three children by a prior marriage, one of whom was Doug A. Hardy, the other defendant in this proceeding.

On May 22, 1968, the decedent, Leroy A. Guidry, Sr., executed a document which purported to be his last will and testament. He was living in California at that time, and the above mentioned document was executed in that state. In that document the testator purported to bequeath to his son, Leroy A. Guidry, Jr., only two items of movable property, a ship's clock and some movie film, both of which had only a nominal value, and he specifically stipulated that his heirs should receive no part of his estate except as therein provided. To his stepson, Doug A. Hardy, he bequeathed his hand tools. He then bequeathed all of the remainder of his estate, real and personal and wherever situated, to his widow, Ruth A. Guidry.

The estate left by the decedent includes movable and immovable property in California and several items of immovable property located in the state of Louisiana. There is evidence in the record tending to show that the Louisiana property belonging to this estate had a gross value of $257,416.65 at the time of the testator's death, and that the debts and taxes owed by it amount to approximately $60,000.00.

The will was presented for probate in California, and an opposition to the probate was filed by Leroy A. Guidry, Jr. The issues presented by that opposition were tried before a jury in the California court, and a verdict was rendered declaring the will to be invalid because of the 'undue influence of Ruth A. Guidry.' Judgment was rendered by the California trial court in accordance with that verdict, rejecting the prayer that the will be probated. An appeal was taken from that judgment, and on September 21, 1971, the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate Division, Division One, affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying probate of the will.

The will has never been presented for probate in Louisiana. Nevertheless, this suit seeking a declaratory judgment decreeing the will to be invalid was filed on October 2, 1969. Plaintiff contends here that the will is invalid and unenforceable insofar as it affects Louisiana immovable property because: (1) The document lacked the formalities required by law for a valid testament; (2) the decedent lacked testamentary capacity; (3) the decedent's execution of the will was induced by Ruth Guidry's threat to commit him to an institution for the care of the mentally ill and by her false statements that his presumptive heirs no longer loved him; (4) the will and another document executed at about the same time constitute an agreement, in contravention of public policy, for the purpose of facilitating the dissolution of a marriage; and (5) the testator attempted to dispose of more than two-thirds of his property by gratuitous transactions during his life, and thus his donations infringed upon plaintiff's legitime.

In this proceeding the trial court decreed the will to be invalid, basing that decision solely on the ground that the California court had decreed it to be invalid under the laws of that state, but he reserved to the parties the right to apply for a rehearing if the judgment of the California trial court should be modified or changed by a higher court.

Motion to Stay Proceedings

Prior to the trial, defendants filed a motion to have all proceedings in this case stayed, under the provisions of LSA-C.C.P. art. 532, until a final judgment is rendered in the California proceedings. At the time the case was argued on this appeal, a decision had not been rendered by the California appellate court. The court has now affirmed the judgment of the trial court in that state, but the record does not indicate whether that decision now makes final the judgment of the California trial court decreeing the will to be invalid. We have concluded, however, that it is immaterial whether the California proceeding has resulted in a final judgment or not, since in any event the result would be the same.

In this suit one of the grounds urged by plaintiff in attacking the validity of the purported will is that the testator did not have the capacity to make a will disposing of immovable property in Louisiana. The general rule is that issues relating to the capacity of the testator to make a will of immovable property will be resolved by applying the laws of the place where the property is situated, irrespective of the laws of the domicile of the testator or of the place where the will was executed. LSA-C.C. art. 10; LSA-C.C. art. 491; Selle v. Rapp, 143 Ark. 192, 220 S.W. 662 (1920); Hasling v. Martin, 114 La. 293, 38 So. 174 (1905); 16 Am.Jur.2d, Conflict of Laws, Sec. 59, Page 92; 15A C.J.S. Conflict of Laws § 16(5), Page 489; Restatement, Conflict of Laws, Sec. 249, Comment (a); LeFlar, American Conflicts Law, Sec. 196, Page 480 (1968).

This rule does not conflict with the provisions of Louisiana's Uniform Wills Act (LSA-R.S. 9:2401), or with the Uniform Probate Law (LSA-R.S. 9:2421--2425) or LSA-C.C.P. art. 2888, because these statutory provisions relate solely to the form or method of executing such documents. Shimshak v. Cox, 166 La. 102, 116 So. 714 (1928); Moore v. Executive Committee of Foreign, Missions Presbyterian C., 171 La. 191, 129 So. 920 (1930); LSA-C.C. art. 1596 .

In the instant suit, insofar as property in Louisiana may be affected, the issue of whether the testator had the capacity to make a will on May 22, 1968, must be governed by the laws of Louisiana. It thus is immaterial what the ultimate decision of the California courts may be as to the capacity of Leroy A. Guidry, Sr., to make a will, and no useful purpose would be served by staying these proceedings. Our conclusion is that the trial court correctly denied defendants' motion to stay these proceedings until a final judgment is rendered in the California suit.

Validity of Will as to Form

The document purporting to be the will of Leroy A. Guidry, Sr., consists of two typed pages. The signature of the testator appears at the end of the second page. Following that signature is another page containing a subscription or declaration signed by two witnesses, J. William Phillips and Verna M. Phillips. The will, on its face, appears to have been executed according to a form which is prescribed by California law.

The will was not executed in a form prescribed by Louisiana law. Under the provisions of LSA-R.S. 9:2401, however, a will executed outside the state in a manner prescribed by the law of the place of its execution shall have the same force and effect in this state as if executed in the manner prescribed by the laws of this state, provided the will is in writing and subscribed by the testator.

Plaintiff argues, first, that the Louisiana Uniform Wills Act (LSA-R.S. 9:2401) is not applicable, because the California court has already decreed that the will was not executed in a manner prescribed by the executed in a manner prescribed by the laws of that state, and that it thus is a 'non-will' and is 'void ab initio.' We find no merit to that argument. The California court decreed that the will was invalid because of 'undue influence'--not because of any defect in form. We have already pointed out that we are not bound by the holding of the California court as to the capacity of the testator to make a will. LSA-R.S. 9:2401 relates solely to the form of the will. We find that the will in question here was executed according to the form prescribed by the laws of California, and that we thus are bound to recognize it here as being in valid form.

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