In re Will of Morris
Virginia Circuit Court
67 Va. Cir. 29 (2005)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
Sheral Ann Morris (plaintiff) attempted to probate the purported will of her deceased husband, Theodore John Morris. The document was a preprinted form with blank spaces filled in. At the bottom of the document, Theodore had handwritten two numbered paragraphs. The first paragraph disinherited Theodore’s son from a previous marriage. The second paragraph left Theodore’s estate to Sheral. Theodore had signed and dated the document. A clerk refused to admit the document to probate. Sheral appealed, arguing that the court should ignore the preprinted portion of the document and treat the handwritten portion as a valid holographic will. The guardian ad litem (defendant) who had been appointed to represent the couple’s young children argued that the handwritten portion of the document could not be separated from the preprinted portion and thus the document was not a valid will.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Ledbetter, J.)
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