Estate of Beale
15 Wis. 2d 546, 113 N.W.2d 380 (1962)
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Rule of Law:
A will is not rendered invalid because its provisions are “unnatural” or unjust, nor is it invalidly executed merely because its pages are unattached, provided the court is satisfied by evidence or inference that all pages were present at the time of execution.
Facts:
- On June 16 or 17, 1959, Professor Beale dictated a 14-page will to his secretary, which significantly reduced the inheritance of his ten-year-old son, Thomas.
- On June 20, 1959, the secretary delivered the original typed will and three carbon copies to Beale in loose-leaf, unfastened form.
- On the evening of June 21, 1959, at a friend's home in New York City, Beale presented a 'pile' of papers to three friends, declared it was his will, and signed the top page in their presence.
- Immediately thereafter, the three friends signed the same page as witnesses in Beale's presence and in the presence of each other.
- A few days after June 21, Beale's secretary received a letter from him dated June 21, which had been mailed from New York or London, enclosing the original pages 12 and 13 of the will.
- The letter instructed the secretary to make changes to pages 12 and 13 based on Beale's handwritten marginal notes.
- After Beale's death, the executed will was found in his office, but the first page was missing.
- Several months later, the missing original first page was discovered in a different folder in another of Beale's offices.
Procedural Posture:
- Professor Beale's 1959 will was offered for probate in the county court, which serves as the court of first instance for probate matters.
- An appellant, representing the interests of the testator's disinherited son, filed objections to the will's admission to probate.
- After conducting hearings, the county court entered a judgment finding the will to be valid and admitting it to probate.
- The appellant appealed the county court's judgment to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.
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Issue:
Is a multi-page, unbound will validly executed when the testator declares the assembled pages to be his will and signs it in the presence of witnesses, even if the witnesses cannot confirm all pages were present and the testator sought to alter two pages shortly after the signing ceremony?
Opinions:
Majority - Brown, J.
Yes, the will was validly executed. A court may not deny probate to a will because its provisions seem unjust or unnatural, as the right to make a will is a constitutional right to dispose of one's property as desired, provided the testator has capacity and is not subject to undue influence. While all pages of a will must be present at the time of execution, it is not essential that witnesses see or examine every page. The trial court's inference that all 14 pages were present when Beale declared the 'pile' of papers to be his will was a reasonable conclusion based on the established facts. Furthermore, the testator's express declaration demonstrates the necessary testamentary intent at the moment of signing, which is not negated by a subsequent, legally ineffective attempt to alter the document.
Dissenting - Currie, J.
No, the record is insufficient to establish the requisite testamentary intent, and the case should be remanded for further testimony. The paramount issue is whether the testator intended the 14 pages to be his final will at the moment of execution. The timing of the letter dated June 21st, which sent pages for alteration, is crucial; if it was written before the signing, it would strongly suggest the testator intended the instrument to be ambulatory and lacked final testamentary intent. The failure of the will's proponents to call the testator's two older sons, who were present at the signing party, as witnesses creates an adverse inference that their testimony would have been unfavorable. Given that a minor is being virtually disinherited, the court should exercise its discretionary power to reverse and remand for the purpose of taking testimony from the sons regarding the letter.
Analysis:
This decision strongly reinforces the principle of testamentary freedom, affirming that a testator's intent is paramount and that courts will not invalidate a will based on perceived fairness or its 'unnatural' disposition of property. It establishes that for multi-page wills, the requirement that all pages be present at execution can be satisfied by reasonable inferences drawn by the trial court, without direct proof from attesting witnesses. The case also clarifies that subsequent, improperly executed alterations do not revoke the original will, which will be probated as it existed at the moment of its valid execution.
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