Estate of Southworth
59 Cal. Rptr. 2d 272, 51 Cal. App. 4th 564 (1996)
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Rule of Law:
A document does not constitute a valid holographic will if the testator incorporates pre-printed language which, when read with the testator's handwriting, expresses only a future intent to make a will rather than a present testamentary intent.
Facts:
- Dorothy Southworth, who never married and had no children, expressed a desire to make the North Shore Animal League (NSAL) the beneficiary of her estate.
- In a September 1987 letter to NSAL, Southworth stated it was the 'determining factor in my selection of you as the beneficiary of my entire estate.'
- NSAL sent Southworth informational materials, including a brochure explaining that a proper written will, not just a letter or promise, was necessary to make a testamentary gift.
- NSAL also sent Southworth a donor card which presented several pre-printed options for making a gift.
- On April 19, 1989, Southworth filled out and returned the donor card to NSAL.
- On the card, Southworth circled the pre-printed option 'c' which stated: 'I am not taking action now, but my intention is'.
- In the blank space immediately following this printed phrase, Southworth wrote, 'My entire estate is to be left to North Shore Animal League.'
- Southworth also signed and dated the card but never prepared a formal will before her death on January 14, 1994.
Procedural Posture:
- After Dorothy Southworth's death, the Ventura County Public Administrator filed a petition to administer her estate in the trial court.
- North Shore Animal League (NSAL) filed an objection, petitioning the court to admit a donor card signed by Southworth as a valid holographic will.
- Francis V. See, representing decedent's half-siblings Jeanette and Jack Southworth, contested the admission of the donor card into probate.
- The trial court concluded the donor card substantially complied with the statutory requirements and admitted it to probate as Southworth's last will.
- The contestants (Jeanette Southworth, Jack Southworth, and Francis V. See) appealed the trial court's judgment to the California Court of Appeals, Second District.
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Issue:
Does a donor card constitute a valid holographic will when the decedent's handwritten bequest is preceded by and incorporates the pre-printed words, 'I am not taking action now, but my intention is'?
Opinions:
Majority - Gilbert, J.
No. The donor card does not constitute a valid holographic will because the incorporated pre-printed text negates the required present testamentary intent. For a document to be a valid holographic will, the material provisions must be in the testator's handwriting and must demonstrate a present intent to make a testamentary disposition. Here, Southworth did not strike out but instead explicitly incorporated the printed language 'I am not taking action now, but my intention is.' This phrase, combined with her handwritten words, evinces only an intent to make a will in the future, not the present intent required by law. While extrinsic evidence suggested Southworth desired to leave her estate to NSAL, the document purported to be the will must itself contain the necessary testamentary intent. The incorporated printed language was material to her expression and unambiguously declared her statement to be one of future intent, thereby invalidating the document as a will.
Analysis:
This case refines the application of the holographic will statute in California, particularly regarding documents that mix handwriting with pre-printed text. It distinguishes the holding from cases like Estate of Black, which allowed for ignoring surplus, non-material printed matter on a will form. The court here establishes that when a testator affirmatively incorporates pre-printed language that is material to their intent, that language must be considered. Consequently, if the incorporated printed text negates present testamentary intent by framing the disposition as a future plan, the document will fail as a holographic will, even if other evidence strongly suggests the decedent's wishes.
