Court Opinion

ID: 9724458
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:57:12.214663+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:00.592288
License: Public Domain

McCown, J.,
concurring.
I concur generally in the result reached by the majority opinion, but I am convinced that the result is correct for another basic reason. The majority opinion proceeds on the assumption that there is evidence in the record supporting an oral agreement that the property of Frank and Elizabeth Middaugh, upon the death of the survivor, was to go to the nieces and nephews of both. An analysis of the record discloses that on the very first conference of the decedents with their attorney, they said: “* * * we have decided how we want to divide our property, but we think we should have a joint will. So that it will be the same for both of us no matter which one of us dies first.” Their attorney then advised them: “I am opposed to joint wills for the reason that it ties you up and forfeits the wife getting the benefit of the marital deductions. * * * You can accomplish the same results by making two identical wills and put the property the way you want it that way.” Separate wills were drawn for the decedents and there is not one word of testimony at any point that the decedents disregarded or intended to override the advice of their attorney, nor that they at any time intended to proceed with a so-called contractual arrangement, regardless of their attorney’s advice. At the time of execution of the separate wills, each party stated that his or her will was just the way he or she wanted it.
*15In order to assume that the parties were going ahead with a contractual irrevocable testamentary plan, even if they had one originally, you have to assume that they intended to disregard their attorney’s advice and that they planned to avoid the federal estate tax laws, neither of which, I think, are reasonable assumptions.
In a modern day in which husbands and wives are much more frequently making testamentary plans together, it is disregarding the plain facts of life to treat oral conversation between spouses that they have “agreed” on a testamentary plan or plans, as constituting the evidence of an oral, binding contractual obligation. A court should not introduce or imply the existence of a mercenary element in the execution of wills containing reciprocal provisions between husband and wife bound by close ties of affection, except upon clear affirmative proof that it was present within the understanding of all parties. Testimony which establishes only that wills containing reciprocal provisions were the result of the union of life and purpose of the testators, and not of a negotiation between them in which each testator represented his or her own interest, is not sufficient to establish a contract for the execution of the wills. The discussion by two persons bound to each other by the closest ties of affection concerning the disposition of their property, resulting in separate wills by which the property of each is disposed of in the same manner, affords no grounds for an inference that either undertook or exacted a legal obligation. This is glaringly apparent when they are dealing with federal estate taxes and joint testamentary planning.
The cases are absolutely clear in all states that I have been able to find that the degree of proof required to establish a contract for the execution of wills reciprocal in their bequests must be “clear, unambiguous, and convincing,” “definite, certain, clear and convincing,” “very convincing,” “clear, definite, satisfactory and unequivocal,” and in some instances, “most indisputable.” Some *16authorities go so far as to require proof beyond reasonable doubt or legitimate controversy to establish a contract for the execution of wills containing reciprocal bequests and bequests to third persons effective in enjoyment upon the death of the surviving testator, especially where the parties were husband and wife. 57 Am. Jur., Wills, § 728, p. 494.
The rule which I think applies here is set out in 57 Am. Jur., Wills, § 733, p. 499: “Parol proof offered to establish a contract for the execution of wills containing reciprocal bequests must be of the most satisfactory character, especially where the enforcement of the agreement will divert the title from the heirs at law of a decedent. Clearly the court cannot imply an agreement for the execution of separate wills containing reciprocal provisions and identical or similar provisions for the benefit of a third person where the circumstances are inconclusive and permit an inference either way. It has been held that in the absence of an express agreement for the execution of separate wills with reciprocal provisions and similar provisions for the benefit of a third person, the evidence of the surrounding circumstances must be such as imperatively to compel the conclusion that the testators intended and undertook to bind themselves and their estate irrevocably in the event of the prior death of one, in order to suffice as proof of a contract between them.” See, also, Annotation, 169 A. L. R. 66, 67.
It is strange indeed that we place so many technical requirements and formalities about the execution of a will and its amendment or revocation and yet, in certain circumstances, permit mere oral statements to be somehow wrapped in a contractual package which will supplant and override the will itself. An attorney has a difficult enough time in preparing joint testamentary plans, drafting proper and effective wills, and complying with all the formalities of their execution. To make his memory of jhe oral conversations of the testators the *17determining factor with respect to establishing some overriding contractual arrangement places an almost impossible burden upon him. If the facts of the so-called “contract” here were actually sufficient to constitute a binding oral contract to make irrevocable reciprocal wills, the careful draftsman would have to place in every reciprocal will a specific negation of any oral contractual agreement.
To demonstrate the reason for the concern with a reliance only upon the statute of frauds in this case, it can be pointed out that upon the recommendation of the attorney drawing the wills, certain property transfers were recommended. The record does not show when, whether, or to what extent, they were made. If a transfer had been made after the execution of the wills and in accordance with the so-called “agreement,” such a transfer could be treated as part performance sufficient to take the “contract” out of the statute of frauds. Such transfers of property in pursuance of a testamentary plan are not only occasionally pursued in federal estate and gift tax planning, but are quite commonly pursued.
Insofar as the statute of frauds is concerned, it would seem preferable to adopt a rule that the execution of a will, and leaving it unrevoked until death, is not of itself sufficient to take an alleged irrevocable oral agreement for reciprocal wills between husband and wife out of the operation of the statute, unless the will on its face specifically refers to the oral contract.
The facts in this case are definitely insufficient to establish any oral contract to make irrevocable reciprocal wills.
I am authorized to state that Carter, J., is in agreement with this concurrence, but that the statute of frauds being a bar, a holding of the insufficiency of the oral agreement is not necessary to the disposition of the case.