Opinion ID: 2411908
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sound mind

Text: William Forrester now seeks to invalidate both the 1984 and 1985 wills on grounds of lack of testamentary capacity in an effort to have the estate pass by intestacy. In this effort, he presented evidence of the testatrix' developing dementia, aging diseases, and paranoid ideation regarding her house. There was also testimony that the testatrix suffered from near-total blindness. We try probate cases de novo on appeal, and the decision of the probate judge will not be reversed unless it is clearly erroneous, that is, clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. Gifford v. Estate of Gifford, 305 Ark. 46, 805 S.W.2d 71 (1991); Conkle v. Walker, 294 Ark. 222, 742 S.W.2d 892 (1988); Sullivant v. Sullivant, 236 Ark. 95, 364 S.W.2d 665 (1963). In our review, we give due deference to the superior position of the probate judge to determine the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be accorded their testimony. Daley v. Boroughs, 310 Ark. 274, 835 S.W.2d 858 (1992). Once the proponent of a will shows that the will is rational on its face and has been executed and witnessed in accordance with testamentary formalities, the party challenging the will's validity is required to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the testator lacked mental capacity or was unduly influenced at the time the will was executed. In re Conservatorship of Kueteman, 309 Ark. 546, 832 S.W.2d 234 (1992); Reddoch v. Blair, 285 Ark. 446, 688 S.W.2d 286 (1985); Rose v. Dunn, 284 Ark. 42, 679 S.W.2d 180 (1984); Thompson v. Orr Estate, 252 Ark. 377, 479 S.W.2d 229 (1972). The decedent's physician, Dr. Louis O. Lambiotte, testified that between 1960 and 1985, Mrs. Davidson began suffering from diseases associated with aging, including macular degeneration, arteriosclerosis, mild hypertension, abnormal glucose tolerance, a systolic murmur of the aortic valve, and paranoid ideation with reference to her house and the objects in it. He further testified that she always recognized him and knew where she was. In his view, her delusional thinking ... represented a slot of abnormality which would not have prevented her from recognizing family members, and specifically her two nephews. A psychiatrist, Dr. Joe H. Dorzab, who saw the decedent in April 1985, diagnosed her primary problem as deteriorating memory caused by either Alzheimer's dementia or multi-infarct dementia. Other witnesses described Mrs. Davidson as strong-willed, eccentric, and nutty. Toward the end of her life, and in 1985, she was obsessed by the fact that someone was trying to enter her house and take her things. This caused her to lock her house and nail her doors shut. The probate court also had the benefit of a lengthy telephone conversation between William Forrester and the testatrix which was taped on May 6, 1987. That tape, which provided some insight into the testatrix's mental state, was played at trial. Our generally expressed rule for testamentary capacity is that the testatrix must be able to know the natural objects of her bounty and the extent of her property; to understand to whom the property is being given; and to realize those who are being excluded from the will. Daley v. Boroughs, supra ; In re Conservatorship of Kueteman, supra ; Hiler v. Cude, 248 Ark. 1065, 455 S.W.2d 891 (1970). In the present case, nothing before us suggests that the elements of mental competency were not present when Mrs. Davidson executed her December 11, 1985 will. No expert opinion contravenes her testamentary capacity on that date. On the contrary, three witnesses attested to her signature on the will, and none espoused the view that there was any unusual behavior on Mrs. Davidson's part or any problem concerning soundness of mind. Two witnesses in fact recall Mrs. Davidson's specifically declaring that she was there to sign her will. Moreover, there was testimony that at the time Mrs. Davidson was aware of the property she owned by Lake Waldron and of her properties in Colorado and Texas. Our probate law does not require that a testatrix mete out exact justice in the devise of her property. See Bruere v. Mullins, 229 Ark. 904, 320 S.W.2d 274 (1959). So long as she has the capacity to make a will, she may be unfair, eccentric, injudicious, or capricious in making distribution. Id. Moreover, the fact that Mrs. Davidson was suffering ideation relative to her house and incipient dementia does not, in itself, establish an impairment of testamentary capacity. Id. As Dr. Lambiotte testified, this could represent only a slot of abnormality. Any assertion that Mrs. Davidson was unfair to her nephews is difficult to fathom in light of the fact that they received almost ninety percent of the estate's assets as residuary beneficiaries under the 1985 will. But, more importantly, the proposition that she did not know her property or who her heirs were and was unable to interrelate those factors was simply not proven. Because there was insufficient proof that the testatrix lacked the requisite mental capacity to make a will on in December 11, 1985, Forrester's contest must fail.