Opinion ID: 1228610
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: My Will

Text: 190 Va. at 463, 58 S.E.2d at 531. After five pecuniary gifts, two specific bequests, and a residuary clause, the holograph concluded, This is My last Will and Testament[.] Id. at 464, 58 S.E.2d at 531. In upholding the writing as a valid will, we stated that the writing itself showed the finality of the instrument and the testatrix's intent to make a will. Id. at 466, 58 S.E.2d at 533. We noted that the instrument was a complete document, disposing of the entire estate and containing no blanks. Finally, we said that the language of the will clearly showed that the name at the top was intended as testatrix's signature. The last sentence of the will, when considered with the first three lines, showed the manifest intent of the testatrix that her name serve as her signature. Id. at 466-67, 58 S.E.2d at 533. In Dinning, the holograph offered for probate as the will of William Dinning began with language naming an executor and directing payment of debts. After an orderly and complete disposition of testator's property, the will concluded, I, William Dinning, say this is my last will and testament. 102 Va. at 468, 46 S.E. at 473. In reversing the trial court's denial of probate, we held that the eight words following the signature constituted an emphatic declaration that the signature was intended to authenticate all that preceded it. Id. at 470, 46 S.E. at 474. It served as the final consummation of the testator's purpose. The purported will in the present case is a complete document; it disposes of Slate's entire estate and contains no blanks. The writing itself shows the finality of the instrument and Slate's intention to make a will. Slate's will begins, I, Garland B. Slate, ... do hereby declare this to be my last will and testament. After disposing of his entire estate, Slate wrote, Given under my hand this 25th day of October 1986. One definition of hand is [a] person's signature. Black's Law Dictionary 644 (5th ed. 1979). Moreover, the phrase, under the hand of, means authenticated by the ... signature of. Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1026 (1981). From a reading of the instrument as a whole, and paying particular attention to the phrase, Given under my hand, we conclude that Slate intended his name, as written in the exordium clause, to be his signature to the will. By using the phrase, Slate adopted his name in the exordium clause as his signature, thereby authenticating all that followed it. Indeed, the phrase is just such internal evidence as was contemplated in Ramsey and its progeny. Accordingly, we will affirm the trial court's judgment. Affirmed. LACY, C.J., with whom CARRICO, C.J., joins, dissenting. There is no question that the author of the writing at issue intended it as his will. It is a complete document, disposing of the author's entire estate and shows the finality of the instrument. The only ingredient needed to transform a writing with these characteristics into a valid will is the name of the author appearing in such a manner as to make it manifest that the name is intended as a signature. Code § 64.1-49. We must therefore determine the intent of the author when he wrote his name. The majority gleaned this intent from the authors of dictionaries, rather than from the normal and common understanding more probably used by the author of this writing. Under a plain reading of the document, I can only conclude that the author's name as it appeared in the document, I, Garland B. Slate, Route 3-Box 456 Petersburg, Va. was used to identify himself as the testator in the declarant clause. Similarly, the closing phrase Given under my hand, implies that the writer actually wrote the document, a phrase of particular significance in a holographic will. The fact that the phrase may be defined as authenticated by signature without more, does not indicate that a person's name written in the preceding lines was that authenticating signature. Furthermore, I am unable to distinguish this case from the Warwick and Ramsey cases cited by the majority. The majority has moved from the manifest intent of the writer to under any construction or circumstances, as the test under § 64.1-49 for determining the existence of a signature and, therefore, a valid will. I therefore, must respectfully dissent.