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Keywords

appealhearingprobatewillrespondent

hearingprobatewillappellant

Related Cases

In re Fries’ Estate, 238 Cal.App.2d 558, 47 Cal.Rptr. 888

Facts

Maude Fries executed a will that appointed her husband, Walter Fries, as executor but did not name any beneficiaries. After her death, the probate court held a hearing to determine the distribution of her estate. Walter Fries appealed the court's decision, which interpreted the will as requiring distribution according to intestate succession. The court found that the decedent did not intend to make her husband the beneficiary of her estate, supported by evidence of their tumultuous relationship and her desire to provide for her relatives.

When the petition for final distribution came on for hearing the probate court received evidence and then made its decree which among other things construed the will and determined the persons to whom distribution should be made.

Issue

Did the probate court correctly interpret the will of Maude Fries, which failed to name a beneficiary, as requiring distribution of the estate according to intestate succession?

The controversy arises out of the fact that the decedent left a will which she had prepared upon a printed form, which fails to name a beneficiary.

Rule

The words of a will are to be taken in their ordinary and grammatical sense unless a clear intention to use them in another sense can be collected. Extrinsic evidence is admissible to interpret the instrument but not to give it a meaning to which it is not reasonably susceptible.

Probate Code section 106 provides: 'The words of a will are to be taken in their ordinary and grammatical sense, unless a clear intention to use them in another sense can be collected, and that other can be ascertained.'

Analysis

The court applied the rule by examining the clear and unambiguous language of the will, concluding that it only appointed an executor without making any bequests. The court considered the extrinsic evidence presented, including the decedent's relationship with her husband and her intentions regarding her estate, ultimately determining that she did not intend to benefit her husband.

To begin with, the words used in the will are clear and unambiguous when read literally. It is a perfectly reasonable inference that the testatrix knew the meaning of the words she used, and that she intended the will to be interpreted literally, i.e., as nominating an executor and nothing more.

Conclusion

The appellate court affirmed the probate court's order, concluding that the will was properly interpreted to require distribution according to intestate succession.

The order is affirmed.

Who won?

The respondents prevailed in the case as the court upheld the probate court's interpretation of the will, which did not favor the surviving spouse.

The probate court was not required to give full credence to appellant's story. It was entitled to believe some parts and reject others.

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Related Cases

In re Marriage of Smith, 225 Cal.App.3d 469, 274 Cal.Rptr. 911, 59 USLW 2388

In re Krakauer’s Estate, nan

Stephens v. Beard, 485 S.W.3d 914, 59 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 446

Stanford v. Paris, 364 N.C. 306, 698 S.E.2d 37

DeMaris v. Asti, 426 So.2d 1153