Source: http://pa.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19760603_0040115.C03.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2016-12-11 14:31:51
Document Index: 205448778

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 21', '§ 8', '§ 13', '§ 8']

| In re Estate of Dorothy D. Buckley
In re Estate of Dorothy D. Buckley
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF DOROTHY D. BUCKLEY, DECEASED, ETHEL PAIEWONSKY, A PETITIONER, AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, PRELATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, INC., A PURPORTED BENEFICIARY, APPELLANTS
Appeal from the District Court of the Virgin Islands Division of St. Thomas.
Since the June 21, 1975 will was "entirely written, dated, and signed by the hand of the testator . . .," the district court found that it was a holograph.*fn1 The court then turned to 15 V.I.C. § 8, which provides that
No . . . holographic will . . . shall be valid unless made by a soldier or sailor while in actual military or naval service, or by a mariner while at sea . . ..
The executor and a purported beneficiary under the handwritten will appealed. We reverse.
Originally, at the common law, property could be passed at death without the formality of a written and witnessed testament. It was even permissible to probate a last will that had been reduced to writing by a third party, although neither testator nor witnesses had signed the document. Oral or nuncupative wills, recited by witnesses, were also allowed. In time, the possibility of fraud became apparent and, by steps, a variety of formal requirements were imposed in order to prevent the probate of spurious testaments.*fn2
(2) Such subscription shall be made by the testator in the presence of each of the attesting witnesses, or shall be acknowledged by him, to have been made, to each of the attesting witnesses.
(3) The testator, at the time of making such subscription, or at the time of acknowledging the same, shall declare the instrument so subscribed, to be his last will and testament.
(4) There shall be at least two attesting witnesses, each of whom shall sign his name as a witness, at the end of the will, at the request of the testator.
In view of these circumstances, a number of jurisdictions have provided for an exception to the normal requirements in the case of wills that could reasonably be authenticated without recourse to witnesses and other formalities.*fn3 In those jurisdictions, an informal will is nonetheless admissible if it is written entirely in the hand of the testator. Such wills are described as "holographic." Presumably, a document which the testator has written by himself represents his own desires and not those of a fraudulent interloper, and the possibility of forgery is reduced since the entire document and not just the signature must be in the testator's hand.
Often, as in the Virgin Islands, the privilege of informal testation is reserved to soldiers or sailors on active duty. This is done out of respect for their special situation, which is far removed from legal amenities. The history of this privilege in procinctu dates back at least to the Gallic campaigns of Julius Caesar.*fn4
The intent of holographic will provisions, then, has been to preserve an exception to the rigors of the Wills Act and to admit to probate documents that are genuine despite their informality. Absent a legislative history to the contrary, we must assume that section 8 of the Virgin Islands Code serves this end -- to save bona fide testations that do not satisfy the formal rules. The language of section 8 confirms this saving purpose. It defines a holograph as a "will . . . written entirely in the handwriting of the maker even though the same be unattested."
Although there are no Virgin Islands cases on this point, our view is supported by authoritative decisions. Under the canons of statutory construction applied to Virgin Islands law by this Court, the contemporary judicial interpretation of statutes of foreign jurisdictions that are adopted in haec verba by the Virgin Islands is assumed to be carried over into the law of the Virgin Islands.*fn5 In 1957, 15 V.I.C. §§ 8 and 13 were adopted in haec verba from sections 16 and 21 of the former New York Decedents' Estate Law. The New York cases decided prior to 1957 did not apply section 16 to handwritten wills that satisfied the formalities of execution required by Decedents' Estate Law § 21.*fn6 To the contrary, section 16 was limited in its applicability to wills that did not otherwise satisfy the formal requirements of testation. 15 V.I.C. § 8 is presumed to have the same scope.
In this context, it is apparent that the will of Dorothy Buckley, although handwritten by the testator and, thus, literally a holograph, is not a holograph for the purposes of section 8 of Title 15. Assuming that the writing is authentic and the oaths are true, the will meets all the formal requirements imposed by the Virgin Islands.*fn7 It was subscribed by the testator, who declared the instrument to be her last will and testament, in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, who then signed the document.
A handwritten will that satisfies the formal requirements of 15 V.I.C. § 13 is admissible to probate on that basis. It is not subject to the holographic will provisions of 15 V.I.C. § 8, and it is not to be excluded from probate because it was executed by a person not entitled to the privilege of informal testation.*fn8