Kelly's Estate
Kelly's Estate
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The only attestation to the execution of this will is in connection with the codicil thereto. The will proper is signed by the testator, but there are no subscribing witnesses to the signing. To the execution of the codicil, made a year or more subsequent, there are two attesting witnesses. It follows that without the codicil the will would be invalid as to the several charitable bequests therein contained. The will and codicil being in contemplation of law one testamentary act, the attestation of the latter is the attestation of the former, and saves the former from the operation of the statute which otherwise would defeat it, providing the attesting witnesses to the codicil are without interest in the will. And this is the only question here. One of the attesting witnesses is John D. Hahn. The will contains the following provision with respect to him: “I leave my drug business and house furniture to my clerk John H. Hahn on condition that he pays one thousand dollars to Miss Ella Cowan, my housekeeper.” It is argued that inasmuch as it has not been shown that at the time of the execution of the will the drug business and furniture exceeded in value the amount the legatee was to pay to
The assignments of error are dismissed and the decree is affirmed.
Reference
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- Syllabus
- Wills — Charitable bequests — Attesting witness — Interested witness — Act of April 26, 1855, P. L. §28. Inasmuch as a will and codicil are in contemplation of law one testamentary act, where a will is itself without subscribing witnesses but a codicil thereto is attested the attestation of the latter is the attestation of the former, and saves charitable bequests in the former from the operation of the Act of April 26, 1855, P. L. 328, which otherwise would defeat it, providing the attesting witnesses to the codicil are without interest in the will. A charitable bequest in a will made prior to the passage of the Act of June 7, 1911, P. L. 702, is defeated by the mere fact that one of the attesting witnesses is a legatee under the will; and it is immaterial that the legatee was required to pay to a third person a designated sum as a condition of taking the property bequeathed to him, even though the designated sum may have been more than the value of the property.