In Re Faragher's Estate

367 P.2d 972
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 23, 1962
Docket3027
StatusPublished

This text of 367 P.2d 972 (In Re Faragher's Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Faragher's Estate, 367 P.2d 972 (Wyo. 1962).

Opinion

367 P.2d 972 (1962)

In the Matter of the ESTATE of John H. FARAGHER, Deceased.
William D. GIBBS, Appellant, (Proponent and Defendant below),
v.
Margaret E. BURG, Appellee, (Contestant and Plaintiff below).

No. 3027.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

January 23, 1962.

*973 Harry E. Leimback of Leimback, Winter & Hand, Casper, for appellant.

Morris R. Massey and William E. Barton, of Brown, Healy, Drew, Apostolos & Barton, Casper, for appellee.

Before BLUME, C.J., and PARKER, HARNSBERGER and McINTYRE, JJ.

Mr. Justice HARNSBERGER delivered the opinion of the court.

The deceased, John H. Faragher, died May 12, 1958. On that day Margaret E. Burg, appellee herein, filed in the District Court of Natrona County, Wyoming, an instrument dated March 1, 1955, as the last will and testament of the deceased, and on May 17, 1958, prayed that it be admitted to probate and that letters testamentary be issued to her. On May 14, 1958, William D. Gibbs, the appellant herein, filed in the same court an instrument dated April 4, 1957, as the last will and testament of the deceased, and thereafter on June 13, 1958, Gibbs filed a petition alleging he was the sole beneficiary under the instrument executed by the deceased on April 4, 1957; that he opposed the probate of the instrument dated March 1, 1955, filed by Margaret E. Burg, for the reason that the instrument dated April 4, 1957, revoked all former wills; that the last dated instrument of April 4, 1957, was the last will and testament of the deceased, and prayed the instrument dated March 1, 1955, not be admitted to probate and that letters testamentary not be issued to Margaret E. Burg, but that the court "enter" the last instrument to probate.

Margaret E. Burg filed answer to Gibbs' petition alleging the instrument dated April 4, 1957, was not executed according to law; that it was executed while the decedent was incompetent; and that its execution was induced through the exercise of undue influence, duress and fraud by Gibbs. Thereupon the court set both petitions for hearing before a jury.

At the conclusion of the evidence, the court instructed the jury and submitted to it a form of "special verdict," consisting of the following two questions, which was returned by the jury in the manner indicated below:

"1. At the time of the execution of the purported last will and testament dated April 4, 1957, was John H. Faragher of sound and disposing mind and memory, that is, did he at that time possess testamentary capacity?
"Answer NO "(Write `yes' or `no')
"2. Was the purported will described in question number 1 above the result of some undue influence exerted by some other person or persons over John H. Faragher?
"Answer NO "(Write `yes' or `no')"

The court thereupon entered its judgment that the instrument dated April 4, 1957, be denied probate and Gibbs appealed.

While appellant lists no less than eleven alleged errors, they sum up to saying the verdict is contrary to law and evidence, and that the court erred in the giving and refusing *974 of certain instructions, and in passing upon motions.

In considering the first of these claims, we must ignore the evidence favorable to appellant (upon which he seems to principally rely) and examine only the evidence favorable to the appellee, giving to it all reasonable inferences.

We summarize that evidence as follows:

In the instrument dated March 1, 1955, executed by deceased, he left his property to Mrs. Burg.

The deceased had been a very sick man for several years before he died, and was hospitalized upon three separate occasions from January through March of 1957, and again in December 1957, following which he remained in the hospital until his death.

The diagnosis of his condition by the physician who had attended him for twenty years and until he passed away was that for at least a year before he was hospitalized the deceased suffered from a vast lung involvement and arteriosclerosis or hardening of the vessels of the brain, which condition sometimes caused loss of memory, instability, dizziness, emotional upset, disorientation, listlessness, depression, confusion, and made a person difficult to get along with. Added to this explanation, the doctor said he called upon the deceased frequently between March 8 to March 30, 1957, and on April 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, 1957, and provided Penicillin, Eldec Capsules and prescribed potassium iodide; observed he was emotionally upset, was listless, depressed and confused; that when deceased was hospitalized in February and March, he would go into other patients' rooms, become boisterous, use profane language, and had to be put in restraint; that between March and December of 1957, "he was very much emotionally upset," and "he seemed to feel that something had happened to his property, as though he had lost it or was going to lose it, and that really upset him terribly emotionally"; that the deceased had a revolver which the doctor took because he feared violence, and in order to avoid violence, because the deceased "was pretty hostile over the way things were going down at his place where he lived." When the physician was asked, "To whom did he demonstrate hostility?", he replied, "Well, he did mention a Mr. Gibbs." The doctor also said deceased was upset and disturbed because he thought he had signed a paper that affected his property and the beneficiary was Gibbs; that during the last month or two of his confinement, the deceased was irrational. Other testimony of the doctor revealed that deceased told him he was leaving his property to Mrs. Burg, but later, in March or April, the deceased offered to leave his property to the doctor.

A witness testifying in behalf of Gibbs also said the deceased had offered to give him the property.

The attorney who prepared the March 1, 1955, instrument offered for probate testified that in February of 1957, the deceased was a very sick man and he said he could not take care of his affairs; that he had known Mrs. Burg for many years and trusted her; that men were coming through his apartment and he was missing things; that previous to May 11, 1957, the deceased called her and stated he was worried for fear someone was getting his property away from him; that on May 11, 1957, at his request she went to his home, found him much agitated, mentally agitated, disturbed and upset; that deceased said he had signed a paper; that he was afraid he had given his property away, but the attorney's search of the county records disclosed no such transfer of his property; that deceased wanted the attorney to draw a deed giving his property to Mrs. Burg; that he said he wanted to make sure Mrs. Burg got his property; and that the attorney refused to draw such a deed because the deceased was not in condition to divest himself of his title. On September 15, 1957, the deceased told the attorney that Gibbs was acting like he owned the property; that deceased said he wanted Mrs. Burg to have what he had when he passed on; and that she was a good friend, befriended him and was kind to him.

*975 Another witness who was present at certain meetings between the attorney and deceased substantially corroborated the attorney's testimony.

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Related

Branson v. Roelofsz
70 P.2d 589 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1937)
In Re Faragher's Estate
367 P.2d 972 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1962)
Wood v. Wood
164 P. 844 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1917)

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367 P.2d 972, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-faraghers-estate-wyo-1962.