- 2. Material provisions include the “who gets what,” administrative provisions, and testamentary intent (that this is the last will and testament)
- 2. Holographic (Conditional) Wills – In Kimmel’s estate
- a. Conditional wills contain an express clause conditioning their being given effect upon some event occurring
- Ex. Letter that talked about family matters, and an ambiguous note about finances at the end qualified as a holographic will, as person died shortly after mailing it
- b. Valid and permitted, but often unclear whether the clause was an express condition precedent to an effective will, or merely an explanation
- 3. Testamentary Intent of a Holographic Will
- a. Intent that the document constitutes the person’s last will and testament
- Intent that this document be probated as decedent’s will
- b. Ensures that only writing the decedent intended to serve as a will is probated
- Key is to use words to indicate that the document is to have significance following the person’s death
- c. UPC §2-502(c) states that testamentary intent can be derived from the handwritten material, non- handwritten provisions, or other extrinsic evidence
- 4. New Will vs. Codicil: In re Estate of Kuralt
- a. 1989: Kuralt executes a valid holographic will leaving MT property to his mistress
- b. 1994: Executes an attested will that left all his property to his wife and kids
- c. 1997: He began an inter vivos transfer of the Montana property to Pat, but died before the process was completed
- While in the hospital he handwrote and signed a document for Pat, discussing illness and ensuring the mistress would inherit the rest of the place in MT
- Mistress offered this letter into probate after his death
- Estate argued that the letter expressed only future intent to make a will
- d. Probate court determined sufficient evidence to conclude the document was a holographic codicil to his will (codicil is a will that amends an existing will)
- Court emphasized testator intent
- To the court, “inherit” indicated intent to make a testamentary transfer of property

## IV. Components of a Will

- 1. Integration: What is required to constitute the pages of a will
- a. Pieces of paper that are physically present at the time of execution; and
- b. The testator intended those papers to be part of the will
- 2. Republication by codicil
- a. Executing a codicil to a will “re-executes” and “republishes” the underlying will
- Codicil is a will that amends an existing will
- b. Generally, a codicil automatically re-dates the underlying will
- Codicil can either expressly re-date the underlying will (via an express clause expressing that intent) or implicitly (court presumes testators intent to re-date)
- c. Classifying a will as a codicil implicitly presumes a preexisting valid will
- If the underlying will is not valid, the codicil is actually its own freestanding will
- 1. It is still a will even if it does not dispose of testator’s property
- As a will, it does not automatically re-execute and republish the invalid will,
- 1. It may still be possible to use the valid will to give effect to testamentary wishes expressed in the invalid will through incorporation by reference
- d. Potential problems with the original will execution ceremony that do not affect its validity in whole (ex. interested witness, undue influence) can be solved by republication by codicil