Wellock v. Marsh
| Decision Date | 14 December 1931 |
| Citation | 277 Mass. 416,178 N.E. 727 |
| Parties | WELLOCK v. MARSH et al. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal and Report from Probate Court, Middlesex County; Collen C. Campbell, Acting Judge.
Proceeding by Charles S. Wellock against Frances A. Marsh and others, for the probate of the will of Frances P. Wellock, deceased. From an order directing submission to jury of issue whether testatrix was of sound mind at the time of the execution of the will, the executor appeals.
Affirmed.
G. M. Palmer, of Boston, for petitioner.
E. B. Cook, of Boston, for respondent.
This is an appeal, by the executor named in the instrument propounded as the will of Frances P. Wellock, from a decree ordering that the issue whether the deceased was of sound mind at the time of the execution of the instrument propounded as her last will be submitted to the jury. The instrument was executed on August 16, 1927. By its terms, a legacy of $50 was to go to each of her daughters and in each case the statement was added that the daughter was otherwise well provided for. The daughters were also given her clothing if they cared for it. Her son, if he survived her, was to have her house and land and all personal property in the house except the oil paintings and other pictures, which were to go to him for life and at his death to be divided equally between her daughters. Provision was made for establishing a trust for the benefit of her son of all moneys remaining on deposit in the banks, for the payment of $500 from the money in banks to the ‘Gov John A Andrew Home Association,’ and for the division at the death of her son between two named charities of any moneys held in trust. The instrument also provided that in the event that her son did not survive the deceased all of her property with certain exceptions should be equally divided between the two named charities.
The evidence upon which the judge acted was presented in the form of offers of proof by counsel for the respective parties.
When the test of mental capacity to make a will, as stated in Whitney v. Twombly, 136 Mass. 145, 147, is considered in connection with the rule by which the judge of probate is to be guided in deciding whether issues should be framed, as stated in Fuller v. Sylvia, 240 Mass. 49, 53, 133 N. E. 384, and especially upon the testimony to the effect that the contestants submitted the facts concerning the life and medical history of their mother to a medical...
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Wellman v. Carter (In re Carter's Estate)
...testator at the date of the execution of the will unless they found all the facts therein assumed to be true.’ See, also, Wellock v. Marsh, 277 Mass. 416, 178 N. E. 727. Further referring to expected evidence which the proponent was ready to present, it was stated that during the years prio......
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