Schnable v. Henderson
Schnable v. Henderson
Opinion of the Court
Mrs. Ella Sehnable has appealed from a judgment of the district court rendered without the intervention of a jury, probating the will of Rufus Chambers; the ease having been carried to the district court from a judgment of the county court establishing the same will as the last will and testament of the testator. Application to probate the will, which was in the handwriting of the testator, was filed and prosecuted throughout by J. F. Henderson and A. J. Chambers, who were named in the will as executors. The evidence shows that, as originally written, the will contained a clause devising to Mrs. 'Sehnable, who was in no manner related to him, certain real'estate, but that during the last illness of the testator and shortly before his death he with a pair of scissors cut out that clause from his will. Mrs. Sehnable sought to have the will probated as originally written, but this relief was denied, and the will was probated with tbe original paragraph in her favor omitted. During the last illness of the testator and before the paragraph in question was cut from the will, testator gave to Mrs. Sehnable $500, but appellant' testified that when this was done testator assured her that she would also receive the devise provided for her by the will. However, from the testimony of W. B. Fitzhugh, the court would have been supported in finding that prior to the occasion of the gift to appellant, and on the same day, testator expressed the intention to make such a gift and then revoke the devise in appellant’s favor.
Tbe two nurses, Sister Bruno and Sister Arnell, testified substantially as did Mrs. Hart relative to tbe conversation and occurrences at tbe hospital in tbeir presence. Appellant objected to all tbe testimony of Mrs. Hart noted above on tbe ground that as Mrs. Hart was an beir of tbe deceased, a beneficiary named in bis will, and in effect a party to tbe suit, tbe admission of tbe testimony would be in violation of tbe provisions of article 3690, Rev. Statutes 1911, wbieb reads: “In actions by and against executors, administrators, or guardians, in which judgment may be rendered for or against them as such, neither party shall be allowed to testify against tbe others as to any transaction with, or statement by, tbe testator, intestate or ward, unless called to testify thereto by tbe opposite party; and tbe provisions of this article shall extend to and include all actions by or against tbe heirs or legal representatives of a decedent arising out of any transaction with such decedent.” Tbe admission of tbis testimony over tbe objection noted is assigned as error.
In the case of Simpson v. Brotherton, 62 Tex. 170, it was beld that a wife, though not nominally a party to a suit instituted by her husband against tbe legal representatives of a deceased person, was not a competent witness to testify to transactions between her husband and tbe deceased because the community interests of herself and husband were involved in the controversy, and hence tbe wife was essentially a party to the suit. To tbe same effect was tbe decision in Newton v. Newton, 77 Tex. 508, 14 S. W. 157. But in tbe decision last cited it was further beld that legatees and devisees are not included in the classes of persons whose testimony is excluded by tbe statute. We may concede, then, for the sake of argument, that Mrs. Hart was a party to tbe suit, yet ber testimony is not inhibited by tbe statute since she was a party, not as an beir or legal representative, but as devisee and legatee, and tbe only party opposed to ber in the suit was appellant, who likewise claimed as a devisee and not as an beir or regal representative.
Among others, tbe trial judge found tbe following facts with reference to tbe act of testator in cutting tbe paragraph mentioned above from tbe will as originally written: “That said change was made by deceased voluntarily, and that same was done without any undue influence on tbe part of any one, and was done at a time when deceased was in possession of bis reason and conscious of bis acts and was at said time of sufficient mental capacity to make bis will and to leave his property as be saw fit and desired.” These findings were sustained by tbe evidence, and we approve them.
Tbe judgment is affirmed.
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