The rule obtained in this case is discharged and the application of the defendant for a new trial denied.
IN RE WILL OF MARION.
(Essex Co. Orphans Court, Jan. 12, 1922).
Probate of Will—Signing Will for Sake of Peace—Burden of Undue Influence—Facts Considered
In the matter of the probate of a certain paper writing purporting to be the last will and testament of Elizabeth Marion, deceased. On caveat.
Mr. Edwin B. Goodell and Mr. Philip Goodell for Proponent.
Mr. Paul M. Fischer for Caveator.
STICKEL, Jr., J: I was satisfied at the conclusion of the hearings in this matter that the paper writing purporting to be the will of the decedent had been properly executed, and I was also satisfied that she was capable of making a will; in other words, that she had testamentary capacity; but I had some doubt whether the decedent had not consented to the making of the document in question and signed the same for the sake of peace. Being thus in doubt I asked counsel to submit briefs on that point alone, and counsel for the proponent have submitted a brief. Counsel for the caveator has not submitted a brief, and, as I understand it, does not intend to submit one.
The decedent was a woman between fifty and sixty years old. She had several children, two or three sons and two daughters, as I recall it, and one of the daughters, Mrs. Appleton, resided, together with her three children, with the decedent, and had done so for sometime prior to the execution of the document in question. The decedent and her husband had lived apart for some years, and the whereabouts of the husband of Mrs. Appleton were unknown, so that both the decedent and the daughter daily went out to work.
The decedent had never made a will. She was not on unfriendly relations with her children, although there is some suggestion that she disagreed with all of them at different times. So far as the testimony shows, she had not indicated definitely to anyone at any time prior to the making of the document in question what she intended to do with her estate.