Opinion ID: 1824183
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Was there secrecy or openness in the execution?

Text: ¶ 18. In regard to execution of the will, the chancellor stated in part the following: The Court ... finds the will was not executed in secrecy though it was done on a Saturday and though only Mr. Irving and Mrs. Irving and Mr. Osborne and those clearly assorted with them being aware of execution. The Irvings maintain that neither they were not aware of the execution of the will until after it was done and that they were not present for its execution. Testimony from Tilla Rucker (Rucker), a long-time friend of Smith's, also, indicated that Smith wanted to change his will and delete Gatson. Furthermore, at one point, Smith told Nichols that he may change his will and include her as a beneficiary for money and land. ¶ 19. In addition to the above cited factors, the chancellor considered the gifts of money to the Irvings and their family members; the opening of a joint account with Tyree; the involvement of the preparation of the will and no explanation by Smith as to why he wanted to leave most of his assets to the Irvings. Further, the chancellor found the videos did not rebut the presumption of undue influence. Consequently, the chancellor found that the Irvings did not prove by clear and convincing evidence that the good faith element overcame the presumption. ¶ 20. This Court in In re Estate of Dabney, 740 So.2d 915, 921-22 (Miss.1999), found no good faith where a person not unconnected to the beneficiary, admitted to making unauthorized changes to the will. The testatrix signed the will believing that the provisions were in accordance to her request. Id. Clearly, any involvement that the Irvings may have had in the case sub judice is distinguishable from the facts and the finding of no good faith in Estate of Dabney or otherwise. ¶ 21. The chancellor relied upon more factors than those outlined in In Re Last Will and Testament and Estate of Smith, 722 So.2d at 612, and harped upon the fact that Osborne did not ask Smith why he wanted to leave assets to the Irvings; clearly not a specific requirement to rebut the presumption of undue influence. To the extent that the standard may have been heightened by the trial court's reference to Smith's lack of a reason for leaving assets to the Irvings, I believe, this erroneous requirement is misplaced and cannot be considered a factor to support a finding that the Irvings failed to rebut the presumption of undue influence. ¶ 22. Further, after reviewing the videotapes, I believe that the chancellor is manifestly wrong in determining that the videotapes did not rebut the presumption. The videotapes are compelling in the case before this Court. The viewer has the opportunity to observe first-hand the demeanor of Smith and his knowledge and intent in regard to his wishes for his last will and testament.

¶ 23. The chancellor stated the following in regard to the awareness of the testator's assets: Item two of the test requires full knowledge and deliberation in the execution. The first factor in this prong of the test is evidence that he was aware of his assets and their value. The video interviews with Mr. Osborne do not make this clear, but from other evidence, the Court concludes that he did. He clearly knew that he had certificates of deposit, for in August, he was concerned about what he thought was an unexplained withdrawal from his account, and he knew to make the withdrawal to give Mrs. Irving and Ms. Nichols each $500.00 and a withdrawal to get the $15,000.00 with which he bought Ms. Nichols a car. Since he lived alone, he knew of his ownership of the house and land, and he clearly refers to his thirty-seven acres in the video. In Vega v. Estate of Mullen, 583 So.2d at 1264, a deed conveyance case, this Court found that the fact that Mrs. Mullen remained in complete control of her finances satisfied by overwhelming evidence that she met the second prong of the test. She maintained her own bank accounts, paid her own medical bills, and the value of her property was based on Mrs. Mullen's estimates. Id. Likewise, the evidence and even the trial court's findings determine that Smith was very aware of his assets when executing the February 1 will.
¶ 24. The chancellor determined that Smith knew his natural inheritors. The chancellor stated that [t]he video convinces the Court that he knew who his natural inheritors were, for in it, he identified his stepdaughter, his deceased brothers and sisters and most of their children and some grandchildren, and he was able to give specific facts about why he did not want them included in his will. In fact, Smith relates with remarkable detail all of his natural inheritors in his videos.
¶ 25. The chancellor concluded that with the experience of executing three prior wills, Smith understood the effect of his prior wills.
¶ 26. The chancellor concluded that despite, Tyree referring to Smith as uncle, coupled with knowledge of his relatives, Smith knew that Tyree was a non-relative beneficiary. [1]

¶ 27. The chancellor concluded that Smith knew where his funds were and knew that Tyree had joint control of the funds as indicated in the video. ¶ 28. As to the chancellor's statement that Smith knew about the funds indicated on the video, the Irvings contend that Smith never spoke of anything concerning the funds on the tape. Further, the Irvings maintain that during the time of the January 6 interview, Tyree was a joint signatory on a checking account only and not on the $25,000.00 certificate of deposit. On January 27, 1997, the checking account and the certificate of deposit were closed. Smith gave Tyree $10,000.00 and deposited the rest of his money in a Holmes County bank without any signatory on the account. At the time of the execution of the February 1, 1997, will, Tyree was not on any of Smith's accounts. Accordingly, Smith was abundantly independent and in no way dependent on anyone when handling and knowing the full extent of his finances.
¶ 29. The chancellor did not specifically address the issue of susceptibility to influence. Nor did the Irvings or Streater. However, testimony from numerous individuals at the hearing indicated that Smith had a strong will. Rucker stated that Smith was strong willed and not easily influenced. J.W. Burch, Willie Jordan, and Gatson also testified that Smith was strong willed. Susan Clinksdale, an employee at Deposit Guaranty, testified that on January 6, 1997, Tyree was not exerting any influence on Smith nor did he appear to be running things for Smith while at the bank. ¶ 30. Incredibly, despite finding that Smith met the full knowledge requirements under the second prong of the test, the trial court determined that it could not determine what deliberations were made by Smith. The reasoning behind the chancellor's finding was as follows: From these facts, the Court finds that he knew where his funds were, and he knew that Tyree Irving had joint control of the funds as indicated in the video. The Court also concludes that he knew who his relatives were and what his assets were, but there is only limited data about what deliberation he made in deciding to leave the bulk of his estate to the Irvings. Here Again, it would have been easy for Mr. Osborne to have gotten him to explain, in his own words, what thought he had given and what motivated him to do what he did. Mr. Irving testified that on December 25, he told him that he wanted to leave his assets to him. On January 6, he told Mr. Osborne that he wanted to leave his assets to Mr. and Mrs. Irving. This testimony indicates that he gave thought to the disposition for over a month, but part of the evidence is from Mr. Irving. The case law stated above indicates that the proof to rebut the presumption must come from a source other than a beneficiary. The videos do reveal that on January 6 and February 1, he wanted his assets to go to the Irvings. They do not shed much light, though, on what thought he had given to the decision. There is no evidence that he ever discussed these plans for his estate with anyone else. From these facts, the Court concludes he knew what his assets were and who his relatives were, but it cannot determine what deliberation he made. However, the chancellor acknowledged that Smith gave thought to the disposition for over a month, although some of the information came from Tyree, a beneficiary. Despite any information from Tyree, the facts still show that Smith went to Osborne's office on January 6 for the interview and indicated his wishes in regard to disposition and distribution of his assets in a videotape. Approximately three weeks later, Smith returned to Osborne's office and signed the February 1, 1997, will which was also videotaped. There was no proof that the Irvings were present during either visit to Osborne's office. In addition, Osborne testified that prior to signing the February will, Smith wanted to include his great niece, Mrs. Hoskins (Hoskins). Osborne had to redo the will on February 1, 1997, to add Hoskins before Smith executed the document. ¶ 31. This Court in Rogers v. Pleasant, 729 So.2d 192, 194 (Miss.1998), found that Littie Pleasant satisfied the second prong of the test because she was described as strong willed, she knew the extent and worth of her assets, she controlled her money and participated in investment decisions. It flies in the face of reason for the chancellor to review the facts and to find that the knowledge factor of the second prong of the test was met and yet to conclude that no deliberation was made. The chancellor specifically determined that Smith gave thought to the disposition for over a month. He further determined that Smith was competent at the time of signing the will on February 1, 1997. In addition, I believe that the videotapes demonstrate that Smith had full knowledge and deliberation in the execution of the will, and the chancellor's contrary determination is clearly erroneous.
¶ 32. As noted above, the trial judge appears to have heightened the standard of proof when he referred to the lack of Smith's reasoning why he wanted the Irvings to benefit under the will. In discussing Smith's independent consent and action, the chancellor commented again that Smith did not state why he wanted to leave assets to the Irvings. However, this is clearly not a specific requirement to rebut the presumption of undue influence. The chancellor stated the following, in part: If Mr. Smith had gone to a lawyer he selected without any input form [sic] Mr. Irving and without any involvement by Mr. Irving in the dealing with the lawyer, if he had gone to the lawyer with the May 22 will with no marks on it, and if he in his own words had told the lawyer how he wanted it changed and why he wanted it so changed, this would have probably been sufficient to rebut the presumption, but that did not occur. (emphasis added). The videotapes show that Smith knew his intended beneficiaries and stated such verbally on the videos. Smith knew his relatives and extended family. While at Osborne's office, Smith signed the February 1, 1997, will in the presence of two attesting witnesses, and his demeanor demonstrated his knowledge of what he was doing and his full mental capacity at the age of ninety-nine. Smith was known by many witnesses to be a strong-willed person. ¶ 33. Smith acted independently in the execution of his will. Smith conferred with Osborne concerning the changes to his will, including a last minute addition of a relative to the will on February 1. He stated that he wanted the Irvings to be beneficiaries in the will both during the January 6 interview and through the signing of the February 1, 1997, will. The chancellor's finding that Smith did not have independent consent and action is clearly erroneous.
¶ 34. For the above reasons, I respectfully disagree with the plurality opinion. The chancellor's findings and conclusions are manifestly wrong and clearly erroneous. The videotapes coupled with other testimony demonstrated that the Irvings overcame the presumption of undue influence by clear and convincing evidence and the February 1, 1997, will should be determined to be the last will and testament of Bennie Loyd Smith. Accordingly, I would reverse and render the judgment of the chancery court on this matter. McRAE, P.J., DIAZ AND GRAVES, JJ., JOIN THIS OPINION.