Rea v. Pursley

154 S.E. 325, 170 Ga. 788, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 241
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedJuly 18, 1930
DocketNo. 7434
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 154 S.E. 325 (Rea v. Pursley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rea v. Pursley, 154 S.E. 325, 170 Ga. 788, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 241 (Ga. 1930).

Opinion

Hines, J.

J. H. B. Bea offered for probate an instrument purporting to be the will of his sister, Joanna Pursley, who, before her marriage to C. N. Pursley Sr., was Joanna Bhinehart. C. N. Pursley Jr. filed a caveat, alleging that Joanna Pursley died on January 10, 1928, never having had issue, leaving her husband, C. N. Pursley Sr. (who died after her death) as her sole heir at law, and as such entitled to her estate under the statute of distributions; that caveator was the son and the only heir at law of C. N. Pursley Sr., who inherited the entire estate of the testatrix; that the signature of testatrix to said instrument was forged; that the names of W. M. Eoberson W. W. Eoberson, and T. J. Edge, the persons signing said instrument as witnesses, were not signed by them or in the presence of or with the consent of Joanna Pursley; and that said paper was not the will of said Joanna Pursley but was a forged instrument.

On the trial the testimony offered in behalf of the propounder tended to show the following: The instrument offered for probate as the last will of Joanna Pursley was found, sometime after her death, among the papers of her nephew, W. M. Eoberson, who was one of the apparent witnesses to said instrument. At the time the will was offered for probate, the three persons who purported to be the attesting witnesses thereto were dead. Tom Edge, a son of T. J. Edge, was sworn as a witness by the propounder. This witness was about 12 years of age at the time of the alleged execution of the will. He testified that his father and the other two attesting witnesses went to the residence of Mrs. Bhinehart (Mrs. Joanna Pursley) in Chattooga County, some distance from the home of the witness, and of the attesting witnesses, for the purpose of doing some work on a gin, that he went with them, and that while at the home of Mrs. Bhinehart, and while he and the attesting witnesses were at the dinner-table, Mrs. Bhinehart said that she had a paper that she wanted them to witness, and brought it to the table, and they signed. This witness further testified: “What makes me remember it, Mr. Eoberson, that is Hncle Zip, says, Aunt Joe, there is no use in making a paper like that; you will outlive any of us/ They all signed the paper there. I seen W. M. Eoberson sign a paper that looked like that. I seen W. W. Eoberson make h'is mark. I saw my father sign that paper. I know my father’s signature. She gave that paper, after it was signed, to Button Eoberson and [790]*790told him to keep it. I did not see Mrs. Rhinehart sign. I do not recall that I saw her sign it, I suppose. The paper was in hex-possession. She just said it was a paper; she did not say what it was when she asked them to witness it. I just thought it was a will by what Uxxcle Zip said about it. I could not say what the make-up of it was, but that looks something like the size of it” (instrument purporting to be the will of Mrs. Pursley being exhibited to witness). The propounder introduced other witixesses as to the germinen ess of the signatures of Mrs. Pursley and the attesting witnesses. Propounder further introduced the testimony of witnesses as to the similarity betweexx the handwriting of the signature of Mrs. Pursley to this instrumeixt and the signatures of the attesting witnesses, and genuine signatures of the testatrix and attesting witnesses. Propounder also offered statements made to witnesses by the alleged testatrix during her lifetime, tending to show that she had executed a will.

The evideixee offered by the caveator teixded to establish the following : The instrument offered for probate had beeix changed by aix erasure of the date therein as originally written on the typewriter, and another date sixbstituted. The body of the instrument aixd the attestation clause recited the name of Mrs. Joaxxna Rhine-hart as the testatrix, while the signature was Joanna Pursley. Caveator offered the testimony of a number of witnesses, tending to show that the signature to the will was ixot the genuiixe signature of Joanna Pursley, and introduced iix evidence several of her genuiixe signatures for the purpose of comparison by the jury with the signature to the purported will; also, the testimony of George M. Clark, a handwriting expert, who, after giving his reasoixs, testified that iix his opinion the signature of Joaxxna Pursley to the purported will, and the signatures of the witnesses thereto, were forgeries; also, the testimony of several witnesses as to statements made by Mrs. Pursley during her lifetime, to the effect that she had not executed any will.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of the caveator. The propounder moved for a new trial upon the general grounds, and upon several special grouixds which are dealt with hereinafter.

The trial judge, over objection of propounder, permitted caveator to introduce the following evidence: W. C. Hatfield testified as follows: “She [Mrs. Joanna Pursley] said, ‘Everything I [791]*791got goes to Charley. I have not given any will to anybody, have not signed one, and never will so long as I live.’” Grady Eamey testified: “She [Mrs. Pursley] said I could malee an investigation so as to see there wasn’t any will; but if I wanted to make an investigation before I paid her money, to go ahead and do it. She told me there wasn’t any will made.” Eva Jane Smith testified: “She [Mrs. Pursley] says, M don’t mean to will anybody anything or give anybody anything; I don’t know what Charley will want to do with what there is when I am through with it, and I expect for him to do just as he pleases with it when I am through with it.’” Mrs. Ada Cooper testified: “She [Mrs. Pursley] said, ‘Why, Mattie, I don’t need to make a will. I have not got but one heir, and that is Charley, and I don’t need to make a will, and I am not going to make a will.’” Propounder objected to the admission of the testimony of each of. the above witnesses, upon the ground that the will of a testator can not be defeated, or in any manner impeached, by his declarations. The court overruled the objection.

We are confronted with the decision of this question: Were the post-testamentary declarations of an alleged testatrix, to the effect that she wanted her entire estate to go to her husband, that she had never made a will, and never would as long as she lived, and that there was no necessity of her making a will, as she had but one heir, who was her husband and who would take her estate, admissible upon the probate of an instrument offered as the jvill of such testatrix, by which she gave her estate to her brother and sisters to the exclusion of her husband, and to the probate of which a caveat was filed by the sole heir'of the husband, who died the same day, but shortly after the wife, upon the ground that the instrument offered for probate was not the will of the alleged testatrix, but was a forgery, upon which issue there was independent evidence both pro and con? Such post-testamentary declarations of the alleged testatrix are undoubtedly hearsay evidence, which does not derive its value from the credit of the witnesses, but rests mainly on the veracity and competency of other persons. It is generally without probative value. Eastlick v. So. Ry. Co., 116 Ga. 48 (42 S. E. 499); Tison v. State, 125 Ga. 7 (53 S. E. 809); Estill v. Citizens & So. Bank, 153 Ga. 618, 625 (113 S. E. 552). Its very nature shows its weakness, and it is admitted only in specified cases from necessity. Civil Code (1910), § 5762. This ex-[792]*792elusion of hearsay evidence is the general rule; but there are exceptions to this rule.

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Bluebook (online)
154 S.E. 325, 170 Ga. 788, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 241, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rea-v-pursley-ga-1930.