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Succession of Remont
Citations: 462 So. 2d 224; 1984 La. App. LEXIS 10225Docket: CA 83 1270
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal; November 25, 1984; Louisiana; State Appellate Court
Alcide Remont appealed a judgment favoring Thelma Guidry Bourgeois regarding the estate of Alice Remont. Alcide sought to annul Alice's olographic will and probate a later statutory will. The defendant countered, aiming to declare the statutory will invalid due to form defects and lack of testamentary capacity. The trial court ruled the statutory will invalid, citing non-compliance with LSA R.S. 9:2442. Alice Remont, who died on April 12, 1979, had executed an olographic will on September 15, 1970, naming Bourgeois as executrix and legatee. When this will was probated on November 26, 1979, the court was unaware of a subsequent statutory will dated March 1, 1977, which contained a clause revoking prior wills. At that time, Alice was 82 years old, recovering from surgery, and heavily medicated. The statutory will was prepared by a Lafourche Parish attorney but executed by a New Orleans attorney due to the former's absence. The notary, who visited Alice in the hospital, claimed to have read the will to her, but the circumstances of the execution were unclear. Witness testimonies were conflicting; one witness initially stated Alice seemed competent but later contradicted herself about Alice's awareness of the document. The second witness's deposition did not confirm she saw the will being witnessed. The court emphasized the necessity for compelling evidence to counter the presumption of a will's validity, which was not sufficiently demonstrated in this case. Attestation clauses serve to confirm that the statutory formalities were met when a will was executed, although they are not self-proving for probate purposes. In this case, the will included a valid attestation clause following the form outlined in LSA R.S. 9:2442. However, despite this formality, the will is deemed invalid due to the testator's lack of testamentary capacity. The trial court did not address this capacity issue, focusing instead on formalities, but it is deemed necessary to consider the capacity allegation given the evidentiary record. The presumption of testamentary capacity lies with the testator, and the burden of proof for incapacity rests on those contesting the will. Evidence indicated that the eighty-two-year-old decedent, who had been hospitalized with significant sedation and pain management, was disoriented at the time of the will's execution. Dr. Seludo, the sole expert witness, affirmed that the decedent was not in a sufficient mental state to understand her actions due to the effects of the medications. Therefore, the court concluded that the decedent lacked the requisite testamentary capacity, rendering the will dated March 1, 1977, invalid. Costs were assigned to the appellee, and the decision was affirmed.