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In re Estate of Horton

Michigan Court of Appeals
not provided (2018)
ELI5:

Rule of Law:

Under Michigan's Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), a document that does not comply with formal will execution requirements can be treated as a valid will if the proponent establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document to constitute their will.


Facts:

  • At age 21, Duane Francis Horton II was subject to a court-appointed conservatorship managed by Guardianship and Alternatives, Inc. (GAI).
  • Horton had a strained relationship with his mother, Lanora Jones.
  • In December 2015, just before committing suicide, Horton wrote a handwritten entry in a physical journal.
  • The journal entry stated, "My final note, my farewell is on my phone," and provided instructions for accessing an electronic note in the Evernote app titled "Last Note."
  • The electronic note, which ended with Horton's full typed name, contained personal sentiments, funeral requests, and specific instructions for the distribution of his property.
  • The note explicitly directed that his trust fund go to his half-sister Shella, adding, "Not my mother."
  • The note also bequeathed his car to a person named Jody, guns to others, and specified that his uncle should receive items that had belonged to his father and grandmother.

Procedural Posture:

  • Guardianship and Alternatives, Inc. (GAI) filed a petition in the Berrien County Probate Court, the court of first instance, to have the decedent's electronic note admitted to probate as his will.
  • The decedent's mother, Lanora Jones, filed a competing petition in the same court, alleging her son died intestate (without a will) and that she was his sole heir.
  • The probate court conducted an evidentiary hearing.
  • Following the hearing, the probate court ruled that GAI had established by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the electronic note to be his will and ordered it admitted to probate.
  • Lanora Jones, as the will contestant and appellant, appealed the probate court's order to the Michigan Court of Appeals.

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Issue:

Does an undated, unsigned, and unwitnessed electronic document stored on a decedent's phone qualify as a valid will under MCL 700.2503 if the proponent establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended it to be their will?


Opinions:

Majority - Per Curiam

Yes, an undated, unsigned, and unwitnessed electronic document can qualify as a valid will under MCL 700.2503 if the proponent establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document to constitute their will. The court reasoned that MCL 700.2503 serves as an independent exception to the formal will execution requirements outlined in MCL 700.2502. The statute's plain language allows any document or writing to be treated as a will, regardless of its departure from formalities, so long as the decedent's testamentary intent is proven by the heightened 'clear and convincing' evidence standard. Here, both the contents of the electronic note and extrinsic evidence demonstrated Horton's intent. The note was clearly written in anticipation of his imminent death, it contained specific bequests, and it explicitly disinherited his mother, with whom he had a strained relationship. The handwritten journal entry, which is undisputed, directly pointed to the electronic document as his 'final note,' reinforcing the conclusion that Horton intended for it to govern the posthumous distribution of his property.



Analysis:

This case is significant for its application of a statutory dispensing power, or 'harmless error' rule for wills, to a purely electronic document. It establishes that the definition of a 'document or writing' under such statutes can include electronic records, reflecting an adaptation of traditional probate law to modern technology. The decision shifts the primary legal inquiry from strict compliance with execution formalities (like a handwritten signature and witnesses) to a fact-intensive examination of the decedent's intent. This precedent will likely influence future cases involving informal electronic communications, such as emails or text messages, potentially broadening the scope of what can be probated as a will in jurisdictions with similar statutes.

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