Heazle's Estate, In re

• Decision Date: 05 May 1953
• Docket Number: No. 7946,7946
• Citation: 74 Idaho 72,257 P.2d 556
• Parties: In re HEAZLE'S ESTATE.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

Page 556

257 P.2d 556

74 Idaho 72

In re HEAZLE'S ESTATE.

No. 7946.

Supreme Court of Idaho.

May 5, 1953.

Rehearing Denied June 10, 1953.

Perce Hall, Mountain Home, for contestants and appellants Violet Rodda and others.

Samuel Kaufman, Jr., Boise, for contestants and appellants Tom Rock and others.

J. W. Galloway, Boise, and Garrity & Garrity, Nampa, for petitioner-respondent William C. Heazle.

TAYLOR, Justice.

This is a second appeal in this cause. See In re Heazle's Estate, 72 Idaho 307, 240 P.2d 821. The first appeal was from an order of the district court admitting to probate the will dated May 15, 1947. Contestants urged that the earlier will was revoked by a subsequent instrument dated October 30, 1949. This contention the trial court overruled on the ground that the latter, not being entitled to probate, could not operate as a revocation. This court held that ruling to be erroneous and remanded the cause to the trial court with directions to receive further evidence, if either party desired to present such, on the question of competency of the deceased on October 30, 1949, to make a finding on that issue, and enter judgment accordingly. Conformable to the mandate the cause came on for further hearing. Proponents offered no further evidence and submitted the issue on the record made at the first trial. The contestants produced, by way of stipulation, supplementing evidence submitted by them originally, the testimony of six witnesses who had known the deceased for many years, had observed her, and had numerous conversations with her in the month of October, 1949; that at that time, in their opinion, she knew the nature, character and extent of her property, her relatives and close friends, the natural objects of her bounty, and that she had mental capacity to know the nature and effect of executing a will. They also produced, in the same manner the testimony of twelve witnesses, including the six above mentioned, who had known the deceased for many years, during which time they had various associations and conversations with her, that in their opinion there was no change in her mental capacity during the period from May 15, 1947, to the last date they saw her in October, 1949. There were other lay witnesses who testified to her competency at the first trial. Also, at the first hearing the contestants were supported by the testimony of Dr. C. R. Lowe, a specialist in mental ailments, who gave his opinion that decedent was competent on October 30, 1949. His opinion, however, is based upon a hypothetical statement of the facts. He had never seen or examined the deceased.

The cause having been submitted, the district court found, among other things, that the deceased had executed a purported lease of her properties, under date of October 28, 1949, and the olographic will October 30, 1949; that immediately following the execution of the will on October 30th she was carried to a waiting automobile, taken to a hospital at Nampa, where she suffered a painful cancerous death on November 3, 1949; that because of her physical condition and due to her suffering, and her mental condition as reflected in the purported lease of her properties, she was on October 30, 1949, of unsound mind and mentally incompetent to revoke the will of May 15, 1947. The court then concluded that the will of May 15, 1947, is entitled to probate and entered its judgment accordingly. This appeal is from that judgment.

The sole issue before us is the sufficiency of the evidence to support the finding of incompetency on October 30, 1949.

'* * * the rule, that a finding or judgment will not be disturbed upon appeal where there is real and substantial conflict in the evidence on the issue of facts involved, applies to litigation over the validity of wills.' In re Estate of Brown, 61 Idaho 320, at page 331, 101 P.2d 11, at page 16. Here the evidence is conflicting. Under the rule, we therefore limit our inquiry to a determination of whether there is substantial evidence to sustain the court's finding. The contestants' evidence is of undoubted substantial nature, and tends to support a finding of testamentary capacity. We recognize that age, physical infirmity, pain and suffering, or even partial mental debility, in themselves or all concurring, are not necessarily sufficient to support a finding of mental incapacity. In re Rupert's Estate, 349 Pa. 58, 36 A.2d 500; Wooddy v. Taylor, 114 Va. 737, 77 S.E. 498; Towles v. Pettus, 244 Ala. 192, 12 So.2d 357; McWilliams v. Neill, 202 Ark. 1087, 155 S.W.2d 344; 57 Am.Jur., Wills, § 70.

Testamentary capacity is a question of fact to be determined upon the evidence in the individual case. No general rule can be devised which would be a satisfactory standard for the determination of the issue in all cases. This court has held that 'if a man is able to transact business, * * * he is clearly competent to make a will, but he may be competent to make a will and still not be able to transact business.' Schwarz v. Taeger, 44 Idaho 625, at page 630, 258 P. 1082, at page 1084.

'Testator must have sufficient strength and clearness of mind and memory, to know, in general, without prompting, the nature and extent of the property of which he is about to dispose, and nature of the act which he is about to perform, and the names and identity of the persons who are to be the objects of his bounty, and his relation towards them.' 1 Page on Wills, Life. Ed., § 132, p. 268.

'* * * mind enough to understand the ordinary affairs of life, the nature and extent of his property, who comprised the objects of his bounty and how he was disposing of his property by the instrument he was executing.' Gardine v. Cottey, 360 Mo. 681, 230 S.W.2d 731, 746, 18 A.L.R.2d 1100, at page 1119.

'In general the requisite is that the testator must at the time of making his will have sufficient mentality to enable him to know what property he possesses and of which he is making a testamentary disposition, to consider and know who are the natural objects of his bounty, and to understand what the disposition is that he is making of his property by his will.' In re Johnson's Estate, 308 Mich. 366, 13 N.W.2d 852, at page 855.

Variously stating the general rule to the same effect, are the following: In re Larsen's Estate, 191 Wash. 257, 71 P.2d 47; Slater v. Phipps, 193 Okl. 267, 143 P.2d 133; In re Agnew's Estate, 65 Cal.App.2d 553, 151 P.2d 126; In re Getchell's Estate, 295 Mich. 681, 295 N.W. 360; In re Hayer's Estate, 230 Iowa 880, 299 N.W. 431; McLoughlin v. Sheehan, 250 Mass. 132, 145 N.E. 259; Morecraft v. Felgenhauer, 346 Ill. 415, 178 N.E. 877; Appeal of Martin, 133 Me. 422, 179 A. 655; Doyle v. Rody, 180 Md. 471, 25 A.2d 457; In re Ash's Estate, 351 Pa. 317, 41 A.2d 620; Wooddy v. Taylor, 114 Va. 737, 77 S.E. 498; Lindsey v. Stephens, 229 Mo. 600, 129 S.W. 641; Farmers Union Bank v. Johnson, 27 Tenn.App. 342, 181 S.W.2d 369; 57 Am.Jur., Wills, § 64, p. 81, et seq. This court applied the same rule in Re Estate of Brown, supra, on testimony to the effect that the deceased 'did not have sufficient mind or mental capacity to comprehend intelligently the nature and effect of the will she was making, the estate or property she was undertaking to dispose of, or the relationship she had to the various persons who might expect to become the objects of her bounty; that she lacked the capacity to comprehend any of those things, and thus such capacity was lacking at all times after she was brought to the hospital.'

In its inquiry into the capacity of the testatrix, the court may examine the purported will itself, and draw therefrom any inferences as to the mental capacity of the deceased, justified by its contents. Where the will appears on its face to be a rational act, rationally performed, it is presumed to be valid. In re Johnson's Estate, 20 Wash.2d 628, 148 P.2d 962; In re DeVine's Estate, 188 Okl. 423, 109 P.2d 1078; Gray v. Fulton, 205 Ark. 675, 170 S.W.2d 384; 2 Page on Wills, Life. Ed., § 770; 57 Am.Jur., Wills, § 91. On the other hand, where a will is unnatural, unjust, or irrational, such fact, though not controlling, may be taken into consideration in determining the competency of the author. In re Alexander's Estate, 111 Cal.App. 1, 295 P. 53; In re Gill's Estate, 14 Cal.App.2d 526, 58 P.2d 734; In re Cissel's Estate, 104 Mont. 306, 66 P.2d 779; Appeal of Sturdevant, 71 Conn. 392, 42 A. 70; 57...