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Supreme Court of California


Estate of Duke, S199435

In a case involving a holographic will that did not sufficiently account for the disposition of the estate in the event that the testator outlived his wife, the lower courts' exclusion of extrinsic evidence of the testator's intent and judgment in favor of the heirs at law is reversed where an unambiguous will may be reformed to conform to the testator's intent if clear and convincing evidence establishes that the will contains a mistake in the testator's expression of intent at the time the will was drafted, and also establishes the testator's actual specific intent at the time the will was drafted.

Appellate Information

  • Decided 07/27/2015
  • Published 07/27/2015

Judges

  • CANTIL-SAKAUYE

Court

  • Supreme Court of California

Counsel

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