Brennan v. Honsberger
Florida District Court of Appeal
101 So. 3d 415 (2012)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
In 2001, Edward Brennan, Jr., executed a will that devised his property to his children. In 2002, Edward executed another will that devised his property to a friend, Ruth Honsberger (defendant), and Edward’s brother. In 2007, Edward died. Edward’s beneficiaries under the first will (the Brennans) (plaintiffs) sought to probate the 2001 will. The Brennans acknowledged the existence of a 2002 will but stated their belief that the original copy of the 2002 will was lost. Thereafter, Honsberger appeared in the matter and petitioned to establish the lost will. Honsberger submitted a copy of the 2002 will, which the trial court admitted to probate. On appeal, the Brennans argued that Honsberger’s copy had not been shown to be a correct copy. The court of appeal agreed. On remand, Honsberger was allowed to present the testimony of two witnesses, Carol Kessinger and Sharon Liles. Kessinger and Liles testified that they had witnessed the decedent execute the 2002 will, but neither witness had knowledge of the will’s specific content. The trial court again admitted the 2002 will to probate. The Brennans appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
