Estate of Condon
Iowa Court of Appeals
715 N.W.2d 770 (2006)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
Marguerite Condon’s will left $10,000 to her niece and nephew, Mary (plaintiff) and Charles, with the direction that if either of them predeceased Marguerite, the share of the deceased individual would go to the survivor. The will left the residue of Marguerite’s estate to her son, Robert (defendant) and appointed him executor of the estate. Charles predeceased Marguerite. After Charles’s death, Marguerite wrote Mary a check for $5,000 with the words “will payment” written on the memo line. After Marguerite’s death, Robert reasoned that the check had satisfied Mary’s share of the devise and offered Mary $5,000 as Charles’s share of the devise, keeping $5,000 for himself as residuary beneficiary. Mary objected, arguing that the check had not satisfied her share of the devise and that she was entitled to $10,000. At trial, Robert testified that Marguerite wrote the check to Mary because she “wanted to have the satisfaction of knowing that she gave the money to the people she wanted to receive it.” The district court found for Mary, and Robert appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Beeghly, J.)
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