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In re Estate of Beale

15 Wis. 2d 546, 113 N.W.2d 380 (1962)

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In re Estate of Beale

Wisconsin Supreme Court
15 Wis. 2d 546, 113 N.W.2d 380 (1962)

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Facts

Beale dictated a 14-page will to his secretary. The will disinherited Beale’s son, Thomas (plaintiff). Beale then traveled from Wisconsin to New York with two of his other sons, taking the will with him. While in New York, Beale executed the will before three witnesses, who also signed it. The will’s pages were not fastened together. Beale and his two sons left New York for Moscow. A few days after executing the will, Beale wrote a letter on Columbia University stationery to his secretary asking her to make several changes to pages 12 and 13 of the will. Beale included the pages with his handwritten edits in the same envelope as the letter. Beale’s secretary retyped pages 12 and 13 and returned them to Beale in Moscow. Months later, Beale returned to Wisconsin and asked his secretary to retype the pages on the same typewriter that she had used to type the will. Before Beale’s secretary could retype the pages, Beale died. Thomas contested the will, alleging Beale’s changes to the will revealed his lack of testamentary intent. The estate’s beneficiaries (defendants) claimed that, despite these changes, Beale intended to make a valid will. The trial court ruled for the beneficiaries. Thomas appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Brown, J.)

Dissent (Currie, J.)

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Wills, Trusts, and Estates

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