In re Estate of Wait
Tennessee Court of Appeals
43 Tenn. App. 217, 306 S.W.2d 345 (1957)
- Written by Paul Neel, JD
Facts
Before she died, Georgie Miriam Wait drafted a will leaving her real and personal property to her friend, Sylvia Sunderland (plaintiff). Wait left a dollar each to various family members. Wait also designated Sunderland executor. Because Wait was weakened by age and could not write well, Sunderland assisted Wait in penning portions of the will but was not present at its signing. Wait attempted to sign the will before two witnesses, her neighbors, Leslie Cunningham and Dock White. However, Wait struggled to sign her name. Wait put pen to paper and made a mark but did not sign. The witnesses later testified that Wait’s hand shook and she had to discontinue the attempt. Neither witness observed Wait sign her name. Wait asked both witnesses to sign before they left. White testified that Wait said she signed the will a few days later after Wait had regained control of her hand. The trial court refused to probate the will. Sunderland appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Carney, J.)
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.
