Sanford v. Holland
| Decision Date | 30 December 1918 |
| Docket Number | No. 19545.,19545. |
| Citation | 207 S.W. 818,276 Mo. 457 |
| Parties | SANFORD v. HOLLAND et al. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Greene County; Guy D. Kirby, Judge.
Suit to contest a will by Grady Holland Sanford against Bertonia Holland and others. From judgment for defendants establishing the will, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.
T. J. Delaney and Neville & Gorman, all of Springfield, for appellant.
W. D. Tatlow and Mann, Todd & Mann, all of Springfield, for respondents.
Suit to contest the will of Telemachus Blondville Holland, for alleged testamentary incapacity and undue influence, filed by his grandson Grady Holland Sanford, after the settlement of the estate and shortly prior to the expiration of the running of the 2-year statute of limitations.
The decedent was 77 years old at the date of his death in Springfield, Mo., on July 30, 1913. He died possessed of property variously estimated to be of the value of from $800,000 to $1,000,000. This property consisted chiefly of very valuable business buildings located on and near the Public Square, and a large stock farm of several hundred acres, lying about two miles southwest of the city.
On February 19, 1913, the testator executed a will in which he divided his property among certain specified beneficiaries, including his grandson Grady Holland Sanford. Later, on June 17, 1913, a second will was executed, in which certain changes were made, among which was the decreasing of the bequest to his said grandson.
At the trial both wills were introduced in evidence, and a careful comparison discloses that the principal changes made were the elision of a trust created in favor of his son Charles, virtually the same property being bequeathed to him for life with absolute remainders in his sons; the changing of the bequest to his daughter Edith to a stated sum of money, the realty devised to her in the previous will being added to and included in the bequest to his wife Bertonia, and the lessening of the bequest to his grandson by excluding a certain business property on St. Louis street and adding this, also, to the bequest to his wife.
The record is very voluminous, as usual in such contests. After a thorough and careful reading of same, the material facts disclosed by witnesses for plaintiff show that T. B. Holland was a man of unusual business ability and good judgment; that he stood very high in the community in which he lived, and, considering his age and the fact that he had been troubled with nervous eczema for many years, his mental faculties remained substantially unimpaired up to the time of his death; that he showed affection for his children and grandchildren, and evinced a desire to divide his property equitably.
As to his testamentary capacity, the evidence showed mental clearness and ability to transact all necessary matters of business; that his interest remained keen up to the time of his death in relation to the various matters connected with the rebuilding and restoration of several business buildings that were destroyed by fire the first part of June, 1913.
It also appears that after the execution of the first will, called the February will, a fire occurred, in which many of the buildings owned by Mr. Holland on the Public Square and St. Louis street were either entirely or partially destroyed and rendered unfit for occupancy. This made a great difference in the income received from these properties, and Mr. Holland, becoming dissatisfied with the apportioning of his property in the February will, which had been divided on the basis of the income from the various properties, decided to have a second will drawn. Thereupon the will in contest was executed on June 17, 1913, with such changes as have already been indicated.
Persons closely connected with Mr. Holland, who had known him for many years, testified as to his mental clarity and grasp of business matters and the usual affairs of everyday life. Dr. Beeson, who attended Mr. Holland during his stay at a sanitarium in Claremore, Okl., where he went for treatment for nervous eczema, testified that on July 2, 1913, his mental condition was good, but that he was worrying over business matters, and that he advised him worry only served to increase his nervousness, the cause of his malady.
George Tefft, a distant relation, and who had known Mr. Holland for many years, testified that his mind was clear on June 15, 1913; that Mr. Holland told him at that date that he had been suffering from eczema for years.
Mr. Jarrett, father of one of his sons-in-law, testified that he saw Mr. Holland the last of June, 1913, when he was called to Mr. Holland's home to talk over the reconstruction of the Ross building, of which he Wished him to have the contract; that his mind was clear at that time, and he had no difficulty in expressing his wishes, and that he was "entirely competent to transact his own affairs without assistance."
Dr. Ralston, the Holland family physician, who attended Mr. Holland during his last illness and who was in and out the Holland home for years, testified that after his return from Claremore, he was in better condition than he had been for some time; that at times when previously ill he had been delirious; that it was not unusual for a man of his age to be delirious when ill; that he. "never saw him when [he] thought he was liable to do any violence"; that he "did not state at any time that he was not in mental condition to make the will"; that his mental condition on the day he witnessed the will was better than it had been for some time; to use the witness' own words, "seemed as well to me as had seen him in a year"; that he was "cheerful enough that day."
Mr. Arch McGregor, one of the witnesses to the signature of the will, testified that Mr. Holland "was cheerful, in good humor, and joked and laughed, too." This was the day the last will was signed. He also testified that Mr. Holland asked Dr. Ralston to make a statement as to the clarity of his mind, and that he knew what he was doing, and that Dr. Ralston wrote it out in longhand.
As to any influence that may have been brought to...
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