Estate of Helmar

California Court of Appeal Jun 27, 1973 No. 41521Published

Before: Allport

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Holding. A document containing both typewritten and handwritten portions is not a valid holographic will under Probate Code section 53 when the typewritten matter is incorporated into the document by the testator and is essential to the intended testamentary disposition.

Issues

Whether a document containing both typewritten and handwritten portions qualifies as a valid holographic will under Probate Code section 53.
Whether the typewritten portions of the document were incorporated into the handwritten provisions by the decedent.

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“The typewritten portions of said September 6, 1971 document were intended by the deceased to be incorporated into said document as a material part thereof.”

“The typewritten portions of said September 6, 1971 document prevent such document from being entirely written, dated and signed by the hand of the deceased herself as required by Probate Code § 53.”

33 Cal.App.3d 109 (1973) 109 Cal. Rptr. 6 Estate of MAIZIE HELMAR, Deceased.

FAYE WRIGHT, as Executrix, etc., et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants,

EDITH JAMES et al., Defendants and Respondents.

Docket No. 41521. Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Three.

June 27, 1973. [110] COUNSEL

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and John A. Ruskey for Plaintiffs and Appellants.

Grossman, Smaltz, Graven & Perry, Ralph B. Perry III, Hiller & Thomas and William E. Thomas for Defendants and Respondents.

OPINION

ALLPORT, J.

On September 21, 1971, Maizie Helmar died at Carbondale, Colorado, leaving an estate consisting of both real and personal [111] property. On December 3, 1971, Faye Wright filed a petition for probate of holographic will of the following document, which contained the following typewritten introductory clause:

"LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT 5401 West Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. September 6, 1971. I, MAIZIE HELMAR, a resident of Los Angeles, County, California, of sound mind, over the age of eighteen years, abd bit [sic] acting under duress, menace, fraud, nor undue influence of any person, do make, publish and declare this instrument to be my LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT, as follows:"

The words "as follows," italicized above, and the balance of the purported will were entirely written and the document is dated in decedent's handwriting, except for the typewritten characters "e3" appearing at the top of the third and final page. A contest to the probate of said purported will was filed by five of deceased's first cousins alleging that the document in question was not a valid will. Following trial by the court the purported will was rejected and denied probate. In so ruling the court found as follows:

Estate of Helmar

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OPINION

ALLPORT, J.

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