In re Moore
| Decision Date | 30 March 2022 |
| Docket Number | 54,338-CA |
| Citation | 339 So.3d 12 |
| Parties | SUCCESSION OF Bettye Lou Thomas MOORE |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
339 So.3d 12
SUCCESSION OF Bettye Lou Thomas MOORE
No. 54,338-CA
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.
Judgment rendered March 30, 2022
Rehearing Denied May 19, 2022
THE RAYMOND LEE, CANNON LAW FIRM, LLC, By: Raymond Lee Cannon, Tallulah, Counsel for Appellant, Johnny Cardelle McDonald
JEFFREY M. LANDRY, Attorney General, JEFFREY MICHAEL WALE, Special, Assistant Attorney General, Counsel for Appellee, Madison Parish Registrar of Voters
HAYMER LAW FIRM, By: Niles B. Haymer, Counsel for Appellees, Lee A. Thomas; Joe Thomas, Jr. ; Curtis Nash ; Frankie T. Solomon; and Delores Kline
VIVIAN THOMAS KLINE, In Proper Person, Appellee
STEVE THOMAS, In Proper Person, Appellee
DAWN KLINE, In Proper Person, Appellee
Before THOMPSON, ROBINSON, and O'CALLAGHAN (Pro Tempore), JJ.
THOMPSON, J.
The siblings of a decedent challenged her purported olographic testament alleged to have been written just hours before her death, asserting it was neither written nor signed by the decedent. After a two-day trial that included the testimony of several witnesses and an expert witness in forensic document examination, the trial court found the testament to be invalid and not to have been signed by the decedent. The former stepson of the decedent, who was the primary beneficiary of the olographic testament, appealed the trial court's ruling, asserting 16 assignments of error. Finding those assignments of error to be harmless or without merit, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
FACTS
The origin of the dispute in this matter is the validity of a purported olographic
testament ("will") of Bettye Lou Thomas Moore ("Moore"), who died of a heart attack at about 8:30 p.m. on December 9, 2018. The will was allegedly written and signed by Moore at 3:46 p.m. on the day of her death. The will is three pages in length including signatures, and names her former stepson, Johnny "Cardelle" McDonald ("McDonald"), as the primary beneficiary.
Moore's siblings opposed the validity of the testament, which contained numerous spelling, grammatical, and other errors, and asserted that Moore was a notary public well-versed and experienced in preparing last wills and testaments for people. They argued she had helped others prepare wills on many occasions over the years and was familiar with the legal requirements for those documents to be valid. They point to Moore's education, experience in legal matters, her time as Registrar of Voters, and her vast experience as a Notary Public preparing and notarizing wills as evidence contrary to the assertion that Moore wrote or signed what they asserted was a defective olographic testament, which inexplicably included witness signatures and in which Moore notarized her own signature.
The applicable provisions of Louisiana's Civil Code relative to olographic testaments are in La. C.C. Art. 1575, which provides:
La. C.C. Art. 1575. Olographic testament
A. An olographic testament is one entirely written, dated, and signed in the handwriting of the testator. Although the date may appear anywhere in the testament, the testator must sign the testament at the end of the testament. If anything is written by the testator after his signature, the testament shall not be invalid and such writing may be considered by the court, in its discretion, as part of the testament. The olographic testament is subject to no other requirement as to form. The date is sufficiently indicated if the day, month, and year are reasonably ascertainable from information in the testament, as clarified by extrinsic evidence, if necessary.
B. Additions and deletions on the testament may be given effect only if made by the hand of the testator.
At trial on this matter, McDonald testified that Moore called him in the morning on the day of her death, telling him she was not feeling well. Before she went to the hospital later that day, the only people to see Moore in her home were McDonald, his girlfriend, LeDedra Johnson ("Johnson"), and Johnson's friend, Antonya Dugano ("Dugano"). McDonald is the son of Moore's former husband. While there is conflicting testimony regarding just how close Moore and McDonald were on the date of Moore's death, it is clear that they had a longstanding relationship and McDonald had known Moore most of his life.
McDonald testified that after receiving Moore's telephone call, he and Johnson went to Moore's house to see her. McDonald and Johnson testified that they prepared food for Moore, went to the store for her, and watched television with her. Johnson testified that at some point during the day, Moore asked her to retrieve her books and a pen. They testified that Moore was talking about her death, and McDonald, who was uncomfortable, left the room. Johnson first testified that she saw Moore write, date, and sign the will. She admitted on cross-examination, however, that she may not have witnessed Moore draft the entirety of the will. McDonald also admitted on cross-examination to not
seeing Moore draft the entirety of the will or being present for the witness signatures.
When Moore was allegedly almost done drafting the will, Johnson called Dugano, her friend who did not know Moore, to come to the house to witness the will, a step that is unnecessary for the validity of an olographic will. Dugano testified that Johnson's signature was already on the will when she arrived at the house. Johnson and Dugano stated that they saw Moore write a statement on the third page but did not know what she wrote. These assertions are contrary to the contents of the will submitted for probate, as there would be no statement for Johnson and Dugano to have seen Moore write on the third page of the will. There is only a statement above Moore's signature, which would logically have already been on the will before Moore signed the document. The will bears a date and time, and Moore is alleged to have signed it of 3:46 p.m. on December 9, 2018.
Johnson left the home to get dinner, and when she returned, Moore was ill. Johnson called 911 and was instructed to perform CPR. Moore was taken to the Madison Parish Hospital and quickly thereafter died from a heart attack.
The purported olographic will is three handwritten pages long, allegedly signed and dated by Moore, and bequeaths the majority of her estate to McDonald, including her two houses, her bank account, and two vehicles (a GMC Hummer and a Nissan Juke). The remainder of her estate was left to "her two youngest siblings Vivian Kline and Steve Thomas." Johnson and Dugano signed the will as witnesses, and for still unclear reasons, Moore's signature and notarial stamp are at the bottom of the final page of the will under the signatures of the purported witnesses.
Testimony revealed that Moore had been the Registrar of Voters for Madison Parish for a number of years and was known to carry a laptop between work and her home. On the laptop, she prepared other people's wills for them. Multiple people testified at trial that Moore was a professional woman who had worked at a law firm and had extensive experience drafting wills and providing information to people to draft or write a valid will. Moore was known as meticulous and detail-oriented.
Within days of Moore's death, McDonald took the purported will to Marjorie Pitts ("Pitts"), who was Moore's longtime friend and had been named as executrix in the will. McDonald instructed Pitts to take the will to an attorney and have it probated. Interestingly, two weeks after Moore's death but before any judgment of possession had been rendered or authority granted by the court to do so, McDonald had the title to Moore's Nissan Juke transferred solely into his name.1
The probate process began on December 19, 2018, and several weeks later, Moore's siblings learned about the existence of the will. Several of her siblings, namely Joe Thomas, Lee Andrew Thomas, Curtis Nash, Frankie Solomon, and Delores Kline (hereinafter collectively, the "opponents"), found it suspicious that Moore would draft an olographic will on the date of her unexpected death that left the majority of her assets to McDonald and was contrary to her long-expressed and well-known desire to benefit her siblings.
Moore had not previously expressed to any of the opponents or others any desire
to leave her assets to McDonald and, instead, had always told her youngest sister, Vivian Kline ("Vivian"), that she would receive Moore's house one day. The opponents also found it suspicious that the will misstates that Vivian and Steve Thomas were Moore's youngest siblings, when, in fact, they are not.2 The will also includes grammatical and spelling errors that the opponents did not believe Moore would make when drafting a will and that were clearly contrary to her previous work in preparing and notarizing wills for others. Finally, the opponents did not think that Moore's signature looked authentic. They filed an opposition to the petition to probate the will.
During the course of litigation, several motions were filed and argued before the court prior to trial. One such motion was for contempt filed by the opponents against McDonald. At an...
To continue reading
Request your trial