Matter of Estate of Jones

320 N.W.2d 167, 1982 S.D. LEXIS 332
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJune 2, 1982
Docket13399, 13400
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 320 N.W.2d 167 (Matter of Estate of Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matter of Estate of Jones, 320 N.W.2d 167, 1982 S.D. LEXIS 332 (S.D. 1982).

Opinions

DUNN, Justice

(on reassignment).

This is an appeal from a will contest involving appellees Lawrence Rohl, Ronald Rohl and Diane Schanzenbach (contestants) and appellants John Thomson (Thomson) and William and Jerald Hansen (Hansens). The trial court found that the decedent, Lester I. Jones (Jones), executed a will on November 6, 1979, while acting under undue influence and denied probate of the will. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand.

Jones died on January 6, 1980, at the age of seventy-two. He and his wife, who predeceased him, had no children. During his life, Jones acquired ownership of a large amount of property including farm land and stock in The Bank of Centerville. On [168]*168May 31, 1974, Jones executed a will bequeathing the majority of his estate to contestants, who are his niece and nephews. Thomson was named the executor of this will. Jones gave the 1974 will to his nephew, Ronald Rohl, in December of 1978 to keep until his death.

Jones was one of the larger individual stockholders in the Centerville bank. The Thomson family, however, owned the controlling interest in the bank. The evidence indicates that animosity existed between Jones and the Thomson family. Jones had never been elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the bank and primarily did his banking business with other banking institutions. Al Hall, a close friend of Jones, testified that Jones felt the Thom-sons wanted to acquire his bank stock. Also, prior to July of 1979, Jones told some of his neighbors that he did not want the Thomsons to have his stock in the Center-ville bank.

Jones leased his farm land to William Hansen in March of 1979. William Hansen is a young man, just beginning his farming career, and he had not frequently associated with Jones prior to their business relationship. A former tenant of Jones sued William Hansen in the summer of 1979 claiming an interest in the irrigation equipment on Jones’ farm. William Hansen retained Richard Hagerty (Hagerty) of Yankton, South Dakota, to represent him in the lawsuit. Jones accompanied William Hansen to Hagerty’s office to discuss the lawsuit in August of 1979. While there, Jones told Hagerty that he would like to make a will.

Hagerty interviewed Jones alone for about thirty minutes that day. Hagerty also discussed the will with Jones on September 24, October 15, and November 2, 1979. At these meetings, Jones said that he wanted to disinherit his relatives. Jones also stated that his 1974 will was destroyed. Because of Jones’ poor health and apparent eccentricity in disinheriting relatives, Hag-erty asked doctors and other lawyers about Jones’ background before preparing the 1979 will.

On October 9, 1979, Jones was admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, South Dakota. His health was very poor and he was unable to care for himself. Jones remained in the hospital until October 22, 1979, when he was transferred to the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Centerville, South Dakota. Four days later, Jones was transferred to the Viborg Hospital because of a staph infection. By this time, Jones had lost approximately sixty pounds and his total weight was only ninety pounds. On November 2, 1979, he returned to the Cen-terville nursing home. Five days later Jones suffered a severe septic attack, resulting in his hospitalization in Viborg until his death. The testimony indicates that he was irrational and incompetent at times.

After Jones was admitted to the hospital on October 9, 1979, both Thomson and William Hansen began to visit Jones frequently. On November 8, 1979, Thomson issued three checks on Jones’ checking account without authorization from either a power of attorney or a signature card. Subsequently, Thomson issued a number of other unauthorized checks from Jones’ account. The evidence also indicates that Thomson purchased coins from Jones’ coin collection at less than fair market value and that he sold one of Jones’ silver bars to a local businessman.

On November 2,1979, Jones told Hagerty to prepare a will bequeathing to Thomson all his Centerville bank stock, remaining cash, silver bars and his coin collection; and to William Hansen his farm land. His heirs were disinherited. Jerald Hansen was named the executor of this will. On November 6, 1979, the will was executed. Jones did not give a specific reason for disinheriting his relatives, but did state “won’t Bill be surprised” and that his “relatives would not receive even five cents.”

On December 4, 1979, Jones withdrew a $35,000 money market certificate from the First Federal Savings & Loan Association. Jones’ signature was on the withdrawal request; however, the check’s endorsement was not written by Jones. One day later, Thomson sent a letter to the Association [169]*169stating that the proceeds of the certificate should be redeposited in a joint account in the names of Jones and Thomson. The trial court determined that neither the revocable proxy nor the signature card contained Jones’ signature. The trial court found based on circumstantial evidence that “Mr. Thomson persuaded the decedent to sign the withdrawal request and then signed decedent’s name to the check, revocable proxy and signature card making a joint account.”

The trial court found that Jones was competent at the time he signed the 1979 will. It found that a confidential relationship existed between Thomson and Jones at the time the will was executed.1 It also found that Jones was subject to undue influence by Thomson and Hansen at the time of executing his November 6, 1979 will.

In reviewing this matter, we must give due regard to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses. The findings of fact of the trial court shall not be set aside unless they are clearly erroneous. SDCL 15-6-52(a); In re Estate of Hobelsberger, 85 S.D. 282, 181 N.W.2d 455 (1970). In addition, we must review the facts in the light most favorable to the findings of the trial court and all conflicts in the evidence must be resolved in its favor. Matter of Estate of Zech, 285 N.W.2d 236 (S.D.1979); In re Metz’ Estate, 78 S.D. 212, 100 N.W.2d 393 (1960).

Thomson contends that the trial court erred in finding that he exercised undue influence on Jones at the time the 1979 will was executed. We disagree. The trial court found that the contestants proved by a preponderance of the evidence the following four essential elements of undue influence: (1) decedent’s susceptibility to undue influence, (2) opportunity to exert such influence and effect the wrongful purpose, (3) a disposition to do so for an improper purpose, and (4) a result showing the effects of such influence. Matter of Estate of Weic-kum, 317 N.W.2d 142 (S.D.1982); Matter of Estate of Pierce, 299 N.W.2d 816 (S.D.1980); Matter of Estate of Landeen, 264 N.W.2d 521 (S.D.1978).

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320 N.W.2d 167, 1982 S.D. LEXIS 332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-estate-of-jones-sd-1982.