Wagner v. Clauson

232 P.2d 328, 125 Mont. 95, 1951 Mont. LEXIS 95
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 6, 1951
DocketNo. 9038
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 232 P.2d 328 (Wagner v. Clauson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wagner v. Clauson, 232 P.2d 328, 125 Mont. 95, 1951 Mont. LEXIS 95 (Mo. 1951).

Opinion

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE ADAIR:

Appeal from a judgment of the district court of Chouteau County, Montana, sustaining the validity of a holographic will executed by one Elizabeth Gift, insofar as it affects real estate of testatrix situate in said county and state.

In her lifetime Elizabeth Gift was a resident of the state of Illinois and owned personal property and real estate there situate. She also owned a tract of land situate in Chouteau county, Montana.

Under date of March 7, 1940, she executed in Illinois, a duly attested formal will by the second paragraph whereof she gave and bequeathed “the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,-000.00) to my good friend and faithful companion Katherine Clauson. ’ ’

In the third paragraph of such will testatrix provided:

“Third. All the rest, residue and remainder of my property, real, personal and mixed and wherever situated, I give, devise and bequeath to Katherine Clauson, as Trustee, for the purpose of converting it into cash and making distribution thereof in [97]*97accordance with a memorandum of instructions prepared by me and delivered to her. I make division of the residue of my estate in this manner so that only Katherine Clauson and the distributee shall know of its disposition.
“I nominate and appoint Katherine Clauson as Executrix and Trustee of this my last Will and Testament and request that she not be required to furnish bond for the faithful performance of her duties as such.”

Thereafter testatrix made and executed a writing bearing date of March 12, 1940, entirely written, dated and signed in her own handwriting, and, in part, providing:

“I bequeath to Katherine Clauson my faithful friend and companion my auto radio, seal skin jacket, Charlie’s diamond ring, two red rugs in living room, and anything else you want, also the residue of my estate after all bequests are taken care of * * (Emphasis supplied.)

This holographic document then names some twenty-four persons to each of whom is separately bequeathed certain enumerated articles of personal property consisting largely of clothing, statuary, rugs, jewelry, cutlery, dishes, silverware and furniture and to three of the named legatees she bequeathed money in stated amounts aggregating $3,200.

The holographic instrument concludes: “The rest of the stuff take what you want and give the rest to'any friends that would care for it. Elizabeth Gift. Mar 12— 1940”.

Thereafter Elizabeth Gift delivered her formal will together with a sealed envelope containing holographic instrument to Katherine Clauson who, at the direction of testatrix, deposited the documents in a safety deposit box which Elizabeth Gift had in a bank in Peoria, Illinois.

On February 4, 1946, Elizabeth Gift, still a resident of Peoria, Illinois, died leaving her formal will and the holographic writing-in her safety deposit box.

Thereafter both documents were submitted to the probate court in Illinois, wherein on May 10, 1946, the formal will was admitted to probate.

[98]*98On May 26, 1947, the heirs of decedent brought a suit in the circuit court of Peoria county, Illinois, which court thereafter rendered its decree construing the will and confirming the prior decree of the probate court.

The circuit court, inter alia, found:

“The Court further finds that the said script instrument dated March 12, 1940 does not meet the description of the memorandum of instructions described in said Last. Will and Testament; that all of the elements necessary and requisite to incorporate said script instrument in said Last Will and Testament do not exist and said script instrument cannot be incorporated therein and that since said script instrument cannot be incorporated in said Last Will and Testament said script instrument cannot be given any effect whatsoever
•;í *7$ -if
“The Court further finds that it has no jurisdiction to adjudge whether said script instrument is admissible to probate in any foreign State and finds that the rights of the parties hereto with respect to the real estate owned by Elizabeth Gift at the time of her death and located outside the State of Illinois are governed by the laws of the situs of such real estate and no finding is made with respect thereto.” (Emphasis supplied.)

The decree awarded to Katherine Clauson the sum of $20,000, as provided for in the second paragraph of the formal will, and all the balance of decedent’s property in Illinois to the heirs of Elizabeth Gift. It also adjudged that the third paragraph of the formal will “is void and of no effect” and, that the “script instrument” bearing date of March 12, 1940, cannot be given any effect whatsoever.

On appeal to the Supreme Court of Illinois the decree of the circuit court was affirmed. See Wagner v. Clauson, 399 Ill. 403, 78 N. E. (2d) 203, 207, 3 A. L. R. (2d) 672.

In discussing the holographic instrument the Supreme Court of Illinois said: “To all intents and purposes it appears to be a separate unattested disposition of property by Mrs. Gift, disposing of approximately $3500 in money, land in Arkansas, and [99]*99some $85,000 of personal property in the form of bonds and corporate stock, and other securities. The memorandum instead of being of the nature described in the will is. apparently an effort to dispose of chattel property and land outside of Illinois, without the formalities required in a will. It is not the document referred to in the will, and there is no evidence in the case which discloses any other memorandum which would come within the description of that referred to in the third clause of the will, and consequently the memorandum produced is not a part of the will of Elizabeth Gift.”

If the script instrument was neither a part of the attested formal will nor the memorandum of instructions referred to in the third paragraph thereof, it necessarily follows that it is a holographic will made by testatrix after the execution of her formal attested will and clearly sufficient under the Montana statutes to effect a devise of her real estate situate in Montana when probated here.

On January 6, 1948, upon petition of A. V. Swanberg, the district court of Chouteau county, Montana, made an order appointing the petitioner Swanberg administrator with the will annexed of the estate of said Elizabeth Gift in Montana. On the same date the holographic writing of March 12, 1940, was filed in said court and thereafter admitted to probate.

The heirs of Elizabeth Gift filed a petition contesting the will and holographic instrument so admitted to probate. The petition sets forth a copy of the decree of the circuit court of Illinois which decree contained a copy of the formal will and also a copy of the holographic will of March 12, 1940. Following the denial of a demurrer to the petition an answer was filed to which the contestants filed a reply.

The cause, being at issue, was submitted to the district court of Chouteau county upon an agreed stipulation of facts which included, as exhibits, a copy of the formal will, a copy of the so-called “script instrument” of March 12, 1940, and a copy of the decree of the circuit court of Illinois.

The stipulation shows:

[100]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
232 P.2d 328, 125 Mont. 95, 1951 Mont. LEXIS 95, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wagner-v-clauson-mont-1951.