White v. Elrod

154 Okla. 84
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 13, 1931
DocketNo. 19912
StatusPublished

This text of 154 Okla. 84 (White v. Elrod) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White v. Elrod, 154 Okla. 84 (Okla. 1931).

Opinion

CULLISON, J.

The parties will be referred to as they appeared in the lower court, P. M, Elrod being proponent of the will and defendant below, and Idona White. Dessie Dopp, and Denie Shanks being contestants of the w ill and plaintiffs below. Albert W. Elrod was resident of Kiowa county, Okla., and executed the will in ¡question on or about December 22, 1927. After the death of the testator the will was offered for probate in the county court of Kiowa county, Okla., and plaintiffs contested the probation, of said will by filing written objections thereto, to which objections defendant filed her answer. Said cause was heard in the county court and said will was admitted to probate as the last will and testament of Albert W. Elrod, deceased. Plaintiffs appealed from the order of the county court, admitting said will to probate, to the district court. The case was tried in the district court and at the conclusion of said trial, the district judge made an order admitting said will to probate as the last will and testament of Albert W. Elrod, deceased; from which order of the district court plaintiffs appeal. Plaintiffs in error allege:

“ (1) Said court erred in overruling the demurrer of the plaintiffs in error, contestants, and plaintiffs therein, to the evidence of the proponent and defendant therein, P. M. Elrod.
“ (2) Said court erred in admitting said will in contest to probate -for want of evidence, sustaining the burden of proof imposed by law on the proponent of the will; the defendant in error, P. M. Elrod.
“ (3) The court erred in not sustaining the demurrer of the contestants, plaintiffs in error, to the evidence of the proponent, P. M. Elrod, defendant in error, and in not denying said will admission to probate.
(4) Said court erred in overruling the motion of the plaintiffs in error for a new trial.”

The assignments of error as specified go to the question of the evidence introduced at the hearing and whether or not said evidence was sufficient to establish the necessary proof for the admission of the will to probate. At the hearing in the district court defendant introduced as witnesses Charles W. Lenau, W. H. Carlton, and G. E. Gage. Lenau was the scrivener who drew the will in question, and testified as to the drawing of the will and being present at the time the two subscribing witnesses and the testator signed the will. Carlton and Gage, the two subscribing witnesses, were present and testified, and the testimony as adduced by defendant established that the will was signed by the testator in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses and published by the testator as his last will and testament, and that thereupon the testator requested the subscribing witnesses to [85]*85sign said instrument, and they did thereupon sign the same. Testimony as to the execution of the will is sufficient to meet the requirements of section 11231, C. O. S. 1921, relating to the formal requisites of a will. There is no testimony in: the record as to the mental condition of the testator at the time of the execution of the will. The plaintiffs offered no testimony in support of their pleadings filed in said cause. At the conclusion of defendant’s evidence, plaintiffs demurred to the same, which demurrer was overruled and exceptions saved. Plaintiffs then moved the court for an order denying the probation of the will for the reason that' the evidence offered by the proponent of the will failed to show that the will was entitled to probation, and insufficient to sustain the burden of proof imposed, by fhe law upon proponent, which motion was by the court overruled and exceptions saved.

Section 11221, C. O. S. 1921. provides;

“Every person over the age of 18 years, of sound mind, may, by last will, dispose of all his estate, real and personal, and such estate not disposed of by will is succeeded to as provided in this chapter, being chargeable in both cases with the payment of all the decedent’s debts, as provided in civil procedure.”

Section 11231, C. O. S. 1921, provides:

“Formal Requisites: Every will, other than a nuncupative will, must be in writing ¡ and every will, other than a holographic will and a nuncupative will, must be executed and attested as follows;
“First. It must be subscribed at the end thereof by the testator himself, or some person, in his presence and by his direction, must subscribe his name thereto.
“Second. The subscription must be made in the presence of the attesting witnesses, or be acknowledged by the testator to them, to have been made by him or by his authority.
“Third. The testator must, at the time of subscribing or acknowledging the same, declare to the attesting witnesses that the instrument is his will; and,
“Fourth. There must be two attesting witnesses, each of whom must sign his name as a witness at the end of the will at the testator’s request and in his presence.”

Section 1106, C. O. S. 1921, provides:

“Proceedings on Contest: If any one appears to contest the will, he must file written grounds of opposition to the probate, thereof, and serve a copy on the petitioner and other residents of the county interested in the estate, any one or more of whom may demur thereto upon any of the grounds of demurrer allowed by law in civil actions. If the demurrer be sustained, the couxt must allow the contestant a reasonable time, not exceeding ten days, within which to amend his written opposition. If the demurrer is overruled, the petitioner and others interested may jointly or separately a ns .ver the contestant’s grounds, traversing or otherwise obviating or avoiding the objections. Any issues of fact thus raised, involving:
“First. The competency of the decedent to make a last will and testament;
“Second. The freedom of the decedent at the time of the execution of the will from duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence;
“Third. The due execution and attestation of the will by the decedent or subscribing witnesses; or,
“Fourth. Any other questions substantially affecting the validity of the will must be tried and determined by the court.
“On the trial the contestant: is plainliff, and the petitioner is defendant.”

The sections of the statute as enumerated above deal with the question of who may make a will, formal requisites of a will, and the procedure on contest of a will. These sections have been construed by this court on numerous occasions. In the case of In re Son-Se-Gra’s Will, 78 Okla. 213, 189 P. 865, Judge Owen lays down the rule in regard to the burden of proof in the contest of a will, as follows:

“The burden of proof in the trial of a contest of the probate of a will is first upon the proponents of the will to make a prima facie showing entitling the will to probate. The burden then shifts to the contestants to establish the issues presented by their contest. Section 6210, R. L. 1910; Cartwright v. Holcomb, 21 Okla. 548, 97 P. 385: In re Blackfeather’s Estate, supra (54 Okla. 1, 153 P. 839); In re MacCrellish’s Estate, 167 Cal. 711, 141 P. 257, L. R. A. 1915A, 443; Estate of Latour, 140 Cal. 414, 73 P. 1070, 74 P.

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Related

Estate of MacCrellish
141 P. 257 (California Supreme Court, 1914)
Estate of Latour
73 P. 1070 (California Supreme Court, 1903)
In Re Blackfeather's Estate
1915 OK 1022 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1915)
McClure v. Kerchner
1924 OK 821 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
In Re Anderson's Estate
1929 OK 434 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1929)
In Re Will of Son-Se-Gra
1920 OK 121 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1920)
Cartwright v. Holcomb
97 P. 385 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1908)
In Re Estate of Wah-Kon-Tah-He-Um-Pah
1924 OK 952 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
In Re Wah-Kon-Tah-He-Um-Pah's Estate
1924 OK 1087 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
Ewing v. Van Alstine
72 P. 942 (Utah Supreme Court, 1903)

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Bluebook (online)
154 Okla. 84, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-v-elrod-okla-1931.