Hatcher v. Millard
Hatcher v. Millard
Opinion of the Court
delivered the- opinion of the Court.
This is a case of a contested nuncupative Will, tried upon an issue of devisavit vel non, in the Circuit Court of Sullivan County, at its March Term, 1861, and brought by appeal in error to this Court.
The only question of any importance, presented in this record, turns upon the sufficiency of the proof, and the accuracy of the charge to the jury, as to what is called, technically, the rogatio testium of a nuncupative Will, offered for probate. All the other requisites of the Statute seem to be present in this case, and we are not aware of any serious contest on any other point.
The Court charges the jury, * * * “That the law requires that it is indispensable to a valid nuncupative Will, that the testator should especially call the attention of the witnesses to the fact; but it is not neces
The Court further instructed the jury, “If they were satisfied that the testator, on the night previous to his death, requested any person to leave the room where he was confined by sickness, 'except the plaintiff and the two witnesses, (Green and Warsham,) for the purpose of making a disposition of his property by Will, and calling their attention specially to the fact of what he was going to perform; and after all other persons had retired, he addressed himself to' Millard and the witnesses, and their attention was then specially called to what the testator said, this would be a compliance with the spirit of the law. To make the paper in issue, the valid nuncupative W ill of Reuben B. Hatcher, it must be clearly established by the proof, that he understood himself, at the time, to be engaged in making a last Will, and that the witnesses so understood him. If the testator was merely giving directions about his business and property to Millard, and did not intend to make, or consider himself engaged at the time, in making a nuncupative Will, then the paper in question-cannot, in any view, be regarded as a nuncupative Will, and established as such.”
Under this state of the case, the jury found a verdict in favor of the Will, and we are not disposed to disturb it. The charge of the Court is in substantial conformity to the former adjudications of this Court; and the testimony such as to produce conviction in the mind that it was the purpose of the testator, in view of his rapidly approaching dissolution, to dispose of his property. Baker et al. vs. Dodson, 4 Hum., 342; Gwin
In the case of Gwin et al. vs. Wright et al., the Court say, “ One of the witnesses was directed by the testator to inform his friends that in the disposal of his property, he wished his sister Elizabeth to have his boy, Isaac.” This, was considered as equivalent to a special request, on the part of the testator, to the witness to :bear witness thereto, and established a testamentary act. In this case the proof is more direct. The testator re. iquested all the persons to leave the room where he was •confined, except the executor and the two witnesses, and then had Millard, the 'executor, aroused from sleep, and •called to his bedside, where he gave him full instructions as to the disposal of his property. While we do not desire to extend the ruling of this Court in cases of nuncupative Wills, or open the door to frauds, or unjust and imprudent bequests made in extremis, we are satisfied this case falls within the authorities above ■cited.
Affirm the judgment.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.