In re Snide case brief

In re Snide case brief summary
418 N.E.2d 656 (1981)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Appellant wife submitted her husband's will for probate. Respondent guardian ad litem contested the will, asserting that the husband had lacked the required testamentary intent. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (New York) reversed the trial court's decree that the will could be admitted. The wife challenged the appellate court's decision.

CASE FACTS
The husband and wife executed identical wills at the same time. By mistake each signed the other's will. The trial court decreed that the husband's will could be admitted for probate and reformed it to substitute the husband's name wherever the wife's name appeared. The guardian ad litem for the minor child asserted that the husband had lacked the required testamentary intent.

DISCUSSION

• Upon review, the court held that the husband's will should have been admitted for probate because: 
• (1) although the husband mistakenly signed the will prepared for the wife, the dispositive provisions in both wills were identical;
• (2) the significance of the only variance between the two instruments was fully explained; 
• (3) the will was undoubtedly genuine; and 
• (4) the will was executed in the manner required by N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 3-2.1.

CONCLUSION
The court reversed and remanded the order from the appellate court that declined to admit the husband's will for probate.

Suggested Study Aids For Wills, Trusts & Estate Law