Thornburg v. Manskey

219 S.W.2d 720, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1695
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 28, 1949
DocketNo. 5959
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 219 S.W.2d 720 (Thornburg v. Manskey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thornburg v. Manskey, 219 S.W.2d 720, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1695 (Tex. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinion

PITTS, Chief Justice.

. This is a suit contesting the will of Orvil Lee Thornburg who died in Carson County on February 11, 1948, leaving an estate valued at approximately $40,000 to his sister, Marie Manskey, and his brother, Guy D. Thornburg, with certain provisions-therein made to care for his mother, Sarah Thornburg, during her lifetime. He left surviving him seven children, three of whom were minors. The deceased had been divorced from his wife, Alma Thorn-burg, the mother of all of the said seven children, on September 23, 1942, and a property settlement had been made with her in the judgment for divorce. At the time the divorce was granted the ages of the three minor children were 9, 11 and 15 years and their custody had been equally divided between the parents. The father was required to pay into the treasury of ,the court $50, per month for the support of the children during the period of time each year their mother had their custody. The 'father’s will which is here contested was executed on December 23, 1942. Marie Manskey, the named independent executrix of the testator’s will, offered the same for probate in the County Court of Carson County on February 26, 1948. The same wa9 contested by six of the testator’s children, namely, Lilia Thornburg Miller and Juanita Thornburg Bridges, joined pro forma by their husbands, Orvil Lee Thorn-burg, Jr., and the three minor children, Lela Ernestine Thornburg, Violet Aleñe Thornburg and LeRoy Thornburg, appearing through Alma Thornburg, their mother, as natural guardian and next friend. Alma Thornburg contested the will only as the natural mother and next friend of the three minor children. One of the seven children, named in the will-as Alva Carroll, did not join -in the contest of the will.

The will was admitted to probate by order of the county court. The contestants as appellants appealed the case to the district court where a trial was had to- a jury and the action of the probate court was sustained as a result of the jury findings. An appeal has' been perfected to this court. In'the trial'court the jury found' that the testator executed the will in the presénce [722]*722of the witnesses- whose names were subscribed thereto and that the testator was of sound mind at the time he executed the will. .These findings are not challenged but appellants complain because of the refusal of .the trial court to" submit to the jury the issue of undue influence. .They further complain because "of the exclusion of certain testimony from the jury and because of asserted prejudicial conduct and argument by counsel for the proponents or appellees herein.

Soon after the divorce judgment was granted on' September 23, 1942, Orvil Lee Thornburg visited the office of Mr. R. E. Underwood, one of the attorneys representing appellees in this case, and consulted him professionally, complaining about the unfairness of the property settlement made between him. and his former wife, Alma Thornburg, in their divorce suit. There then existed dissension and bad feeling between the " parties. The record reveals that accusations of -theft were made and gun plays had been made between the parties on Thanksgiving Day, 1942. On December .23, 1942, Orvil Le.e. Thornburg went again to the office of Mr. R. E. Underwood, unescorted by any of the proponents or appellees herein, and asked Mr. Underwood to write -his- will for him. He then and there stated that his former wife and his children were all working close together against him and -he was left all alone. He further asserted that he was afraid of being killed, assassinated or shot any time at night and related a number: of the difficulties between them. He further stated that his former wife and the children had gotten a greater share of the property in their division and settlement of the property rights previously thereto and that he had previously sufficiently cared for. the children. He further stated that h'e had virtually raised his brother, Guy D. Thorn-burg, who had been with him since he was eight or nine years old, and he wanted his property left to Guy and his sister, Mrs. Marie Manskey, with a provision made for his mother to be cared for. Several .witnesses testified concerning the many unpleasant difficulties between Orvil Lee Thornburg and his former wife and some of the children. The will was accordingly prepared .by Mr. Underwood and the same was executed by Orvil Lee Thorn-burg as testator-. • The' fourth, paragraph in the will makes the following provision:

“I am divorced from my former wife, "Alma Thornburg, and I am the father of seven children' born to the marriage of her and myself. Division has heretofore been made between such former wife and mysélf of all of our property. I have given to my said beloved children property heretofore and feel that the provisions I have heretofore made for such children are sufficient, and I make no bequest ■ of any joart of my property to any of said children (here naming each of the children).”

A large part of the voluminous record on appeal pertains to the issue of testamentary capacity of the testator heard in the trial court. That issue is not being contested on appeal and that part of the record pertaining to that issue is not therefore material here except as it may have some bearing or relationship to the issue of undue influence. In contesting the will appellants- pleaded as 'a part of the grounds of the contest that the proponents or ap-pellees, Marie Manskey and Guy Thornburg, brought undue influence to bear upon the testator, Orvil Lee Thornburg, which induced him to make the will in question. Appellants requested that the issue'"of undue influence be submitted to the jury but the request was refused by the trial court and appellants charge that such a refusal was -a reversible error.' Several witnesses bore testimony containing declarations made by the testator, both before and .after the will had been executed on December 23, 1942. But most, if not., all, of the declarations of the testator given by witnesses having any bearing on the issue of undue influence were ,máde after the will had been executed.

■ In support of their contentions that the issue of undue influence should have been submitted to the jury as pleaded by them, appellants offered the testimony of several witnesses, whose testimony is hereinafter set out. Testator’s former wife, Alma Thornburg, testified that she had a con[723]*723versation with the testator in February, 1944, in which he told her, in effect, that he was planning to marry again; that he had made several mistakes which he regretted, one of which was he had made a will since their divorce leaving the children out; that he had gone down to see his mother, Marie and Guy several times and they kept after him to make a will and to be sure to get the majority of the property and that his sister, Marie Manskey, said, “Make your will and make it out to mother, Guy and me and we’ll see that Alma and the children won’t get any more of that property”; that they just kept pounding and pounding at him until he made the will; hut when he married again, he was going to make a new will to his wife and' children. The record reveals that he did marry again but the record does not disclose that a subsequent will was executed by the testator. However, Corine Howard testified that the testator told her in March,

1945, that he had a will fixed for his second wife and O. J. Hess testified that testator told him in 1947 that he had a will fixed for his children.

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Bluebook (online)
219 S.W.2d 720, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1695, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thornburg-v-manskey-texapp-1949.