Opinion ID: 1235766
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Revival Argument.

Text: Our probate code is quite specific as to how a revoked will can be revived: No will, nor any part thereof, which shall be in any manner revoked, or which shall be or become invalid, can be revived otherwise than by a re-execution thereof, or by the execution of another will or codicil in which the revoked or invalid will or part thereof, is incorporated by reference. Iowa Code § 633.284 (1995). As we held in Division III, the decedent's will of 1973 was revoked by the 1988 will. It appears, therefore, that it cannot be revived because no one contends that the 1973 will was re-executed or replaced by a will incorporating its terms, as the statute requires. Nevertheless, Delores contends that the 1973 will was revived under a theory of dependent relative revocation. Delores's argument is essentially that the 1988 revocation of Frances's 1973 will was not a completed act but was only conditioned on the 1988 will being effective. One authority discusses the doctrine: In some cases the revocation of a will is deemed merely conditional under the doctrine of dependent relative revocation. Suppose T duly executes will # 1 in favor of A. Thereafter T executes will # 2 substantially in favor of A but with a small bequest in favor of B. Unknown to T, will # 2 is improperly executed. T, however, believing will # 2 to be valid destroys will # 1 intending to revoke it. Will # 2 is denied probate because it was not properly executed. Under the doctrine of dependent relative revocation, if the contents of will # 1 can be proved it can be probated. The revocation is deemed conditioned on the effectiveness of will # 2 and is properly justified on the theory that T would presumably have intended will # 1 to be effective in lieu of intestacy. Iowa recognizes the doctrine of dependent relative revocation. In applying the doctrine, no distinction is drawn between mistakes of fact or mistakes of law that result in revocation by physical act. Kurtz § 4.48, at 204. Under the doctrine, there was never any revocation of the earlier instrument, or real intention to revoke, because of a mental misconception of the effect of his act, on account of mistake, or ignorance, or some other error. Blackford v. Anderson, 226 Iowa 1138, 1157, 286 N.W. 735, 746 (1939). The rationale behind the doctrine is that any revocation was conditioned on the effectiveness of the new will. [T]he established rule is that if a testator cancels or destroys a will with a present intention of making a new one immediately and as a substitute, and the new will is not made, or, if made, fails of effect for any reason, it will be presumed that the testator preferred the old will to intestacy, and the old one will be admitted to probate in the absence of evidence overcoming the presumption, provided that its contents can be ascertained. This doctrine of dependent relative revocation has been declared applicable notwithstanding that the old will was entirely destroyed; and it is applicable in cases where revocation is attempted by a later will, as well as where the first will was destroyed, mutilated, or canceled. 79 Am.Jur.2d Wills § 563, at 675 (1975) (footnotes omitted). The doctrine of dependent relative revocation cannot revive the 1973 will here. The doctrine is not a rule of law that would create a presumption that a prior will was revived; it is only one factor to be considered in determining whether the decedent intended to conditionally revoke an earlier will. See 95 C.J.S. Wills § 267, at 36 (1957). In this case, the revocation was completed. There is no evidence of Frances's intent, at the time she wrote her 1988 will, that the revocation was conditioned on any future contingencies. We have said [t]he foundation for the rule is the failure of a subsequent will or codicil, either entirely or in some of its provisions, to have any legal effect. It has been applied when the second instrument was not properly executed, violated the mortmain statutes or the rule against perpetuities or was void for uncertainty. We have found no suggestion in any authority that the doctrine can be applied where, as here, the codicil is valid and can be carried out in its entirety. In re Estate of Fairley, 159 N.W.2d 286, 291 (Iowa 1968). In the present case, there is no evidence of improper execution or that for any other reason the 1988 will was invalid; it was simply presumed, under our law, to be later revoked by destruction. The doctrine is inapplicable, and the district court properly rejected it. AFFIRMED.