Rouzer's Estate

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania April 19, 1920

Rouzer's Estate, 267 Pa. 323 (Pa. 1920)

110 A. 176; 1920 Pa. LEXIS 855

Brown, Frazer, Kephart, Simpson, Stewart, Walling

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam,

The testator signed his name at the lower right-hand corner of a piece of paper, immediately under the end *325of the following sentence: “This is my Will this third day of December 1914.” To the left of his signature, and on a line with it, he wrote: “I Have a note of C. A. Rouzer for $4000.00,” and immediately below this he inserted, in his own handwriting: “Receipt of $115.00 against Mrs. Rose Bonebreak.” From an inspection of the will, which was submitted to us on this appeal, the correct conclusions of the learned court below were: (1) That the two foregoing expressions formed no part of it, which the act of assembly required to be signed at its end; and (2) That they were not of testamentary character, but simply statements of facts, without' application to the disposition which the testator made of his estate. The decree eliminating them from the will as admitted to probate by the register is affirmed, at the costs of the appellant.

Decree affirmed.

Reference

Cited By: 1 case
Status: Published
Syllabus: Wills — Probate—Signature at end thereof — Statements of fact following signature — Elimination of statements — Act of April 8, 1888, P. L. ¡849. Where a testator signs his name at the right-hand corner of a piece of paper immediately under the end of a sentence as follows: “This is my will this third day of December 1914”; and to the left of his signature, and on a line with it, wrote: “I have a note of C. A. Roúzer for $4000.00,” and immediately below this he inserted in his own handwriting, “Receipt of $115.00 against Mrs. Rose Bonebréak,” the two expressions, referring to the note and the receipt respectively, formed no part of the will, which the statute requires to be signed at the end, but were statements of fact without testamentary character, and without application to the disposition which testator made of his estate. A decree eliminating such expressions from the will, as admitted to probate by the register, was proper.