Lee v. Estate of Payne

Randy Payne, decedent, executed an entirely handwritten, holographic will in Colorado. The will was not executed in the presence of attesting witnesses. Because the will was entirely handwritten by Payne, it was eligible for, and admitted to, probate in Colorado. Payne was survived by his minor child. Payne owned three houses in Florida. In the holographic will, Payne left his fiancée, Andrea Lee (plaintiff), one of the houses plus an additional $40,000 from the sale proceeds of the other two houses. Lee submitted the Colorado holographic will for ancillary probate in Florida. Carol Hope (defendant), the personal representative for Payne’s estate, filed a petition for probate administration in Florida, arguing that (1) Payne’s Florida assets should be distributed to his minor child via intestate succession and (2) the Colorado holographic will was ineligible for probate in Florida because it was not executed in compliance with Florida will execution requirements. Lee challenged, arguing that (a) the Colorado holographic will was entitled to full faith and credit because it was admitted to probate in Colorado; and (b) Florida’s ban on the probate admissibility of handwritten, holographic wills was an improper restraint on a testator’s right to devise property because entirely handwritten wills were exceedingly difficult to forge and were therefore inherently reliable. The trial court refused to admit the holographic will to probate. Lee appealed.