Petition for Probate and Letters Testamentary
Case Number
Case Type Decedent's Estate Hearing Date / Time Wed, 10/25/2023 - 08:30 Nature of Proceedings Petition for Probate and Letters Testamentary (UPDATED 10/23/23) Tentative Ruling Probate Notes: Appearances required.
The following is noted for the Court at the hearing: Hybrid Will Decedent's will includes multiple handwritten notations and interlineations. Petitioner admits in the Proof of Holographic Instrument, filed on October 23, 2023 that the handwriting on the will is not the handwriting of the Decedent, but is the handwriting of Roberta Starr Nielsen. This judicial admission requires the Court to deny admission of the will to probate without more.
When a will is typewritten and contains handwritten interlineations, the Court must first determine whether the handwriting on its own constitutes a holographic will pursuant to Probate Code section 6111. (Estate of Sola (1990) 225 Cal.App.3d 241, 246-47.) Here, the Court cannot so determine, because the statutory provisions of 6111 are not met. Section 6111 requires the handwriting to be that of the testator himself, not of someone at the direction of the testator: "A will that does not comply with Section 6110 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the testator." (Id. at subd. (a).)
Thus, the interlineations cannot be considered a valid Holographic Will. "Where the handwriting in itself lacks testamentary intent and substance and has meaning only in relationship to the typewritten words it relates to, there is no complete testamentary document that can be deemed a holographic will." (Estate of Sola (1990) 225 Cal.App.3d 241, 247. See also Estate of Nielson (1980) 105 Cal.App.3rd 796, 804.)
As a result of the circumstances and authority above, he Court must receive sufficient evidence to satisfy the clear and convincing standard in Probate Code section 6110(c)(2), in order to admit the will as is, without discarding either the typewritten or handwritten portions. It is recommended the Court deny admission of the will to probate, unless the petitioner can submit such clear and convincing evidence that the will, as presented, reflects the intent of the Decedent.
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Tentative Ruling: Estate of Kevin Lee Star Tentative Ruling: Estate of Kevin Lee Star Case Number
Case Type Decedent's Estate Hearing Date / Time Wed, 10/11/2023 - 08:30 Nature of Proceedings Petition for Probate and Letters Testamentary Tentative Ruling Probate Notes: Appearances required. The following must be submitted: Proof of Publication. Jurisdiction of the Probate Court is obtained by publication in accordance with Probate
Appearances required. The following issue is noted for the Court at the hearing: Proposed Order Appointing Conservator (GC-340). Proposed orders must reflect the relief requested in the petition. The proposed order submitted October 10, 2023 does not match the relief requested in the petition, because the Petitioner requested medical powers at paragraph 9 of the petition, but did not indicate those powers in the proposed order.
Tentative Ruling: Estate of Kevin Lee Star Tentative Ruling: Estate of Kevin Lee Star Case Number
Case Type Decedent's Estate Hearing Date / Time Wed, 11/15/2023 - 08:30 Nature of Proceedings Petition for Probate and Letters Testamentary Tentative Ruling Appearances required.
The following is noted for the Court at the hearing: Hybrid Will Decedent's will includes multiple handwritten notations and interlineations. Petitioner admits in the Proof of Holographic Instrument, filed on October 23, 2023 that the handwriting on the will is not the handwriting of the Decedent, but is the handwriting of Roberta Starr Nielsen. This judicial admission requires the Court to deny admission of the will to probate without more.
When a will is typewritten and contains handwritten interlineations, the Court must first determine whether the handwriting on its own constitutes a holographic will pursuant to Probate Code section 6111. (Estate of Sola (1990) 225 Cal.App.3d 241, 246-47.) Here, the Court cannot so determine, because the statutory provisions of 6111 are not met. Section 6111 requires the handwriting to be that of the testator himself, not of someone at the direction of the testator: "A will that does not comply with Section 6110 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the testator." (Id. at subd. (a).)
Thus, the interlineations cannot be considered a valid Holographic Will. "Where the handwriting in itself lacks testamentary intent and substance and has meaning only in relationship to the typewritten words it relates to, there is no complete testamentary document that can be deemed a holographic will." (Estate of Sola (1990) 225 Cal.App.3d 241, 247. See also Estate of Nielson (1980) 105 Cal.App.3rd 796, 804.)
As a result of the circumstances and authority above, the Court must receive sufficient evidence to satisfy the clear and convincing standard in Probate Code section 6110(c)(2), in order to admit the will as is, without discarding either the typewritten or handwritten portions. It is recommended the Court deny admission of the will to probate, unless the petitioner can submit such clear and convincing evidence that the will, as presented, reflects the intent of the Decedent.
Tentative Ruling: Estate of Lionel Anthony McCormack Tentative Ruling: Estate of Lionel Anthony McCormack