Saturday, October 26, 2013

Holographic Wills in Virginia: Schilling v. Schilling

Wills (or, more broadly, testamentary instruments) are special: they are governed by a different set of rules than other legal documents. This reality was highlighted in Schilling v. Schilling (June 10, 2010), in which the Supreme Court of Virginia (a) examined the General Assembly's amended statute regarding holographic wills and (b) reiterated the rule that a will "speaks" (or takes legal effect) on the date of the testator's death, not the date of the will's execution. Most legal documents, on the other hand, become effective upon the date of their execution by the party or parties.

You can read Justice Mims's opinion in Schilling, here.

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First, some background on holographic wills:
 
Generally, Virginia law requires that for a will to be valid, it must be signed in the presence of two competent witnesses, who also must sign the will in the presence of the testator (the requirement of witnesses is in addition to other requirements including those governing the age and competence of the testator).
 
There is an exception for a will that is entirely in the testator's own handwriting.  Such a will is known as a holographic will and is valid even without any witnesses (though there is a requirement that two witnesses who are familiar with the testator's handwriting testify that the alleged will is authentic).
 
Until 2007, the Virginia statute governing holographic wills, Code of Virginia Section 64.1-49 (you can read the text here), mandated that a holographic will be "wholly" in the testator's handwriting.  If the testator's relative or friend had added certain words or sentences to the document, those "extra" words or sentences were not deemed to be part of the will -- they were excluded by Section 64.1-49.
 
In 2007, however, Section 64.1-49.1 (the text is here) modified the rule slightly, so that additions by others are now permitted (and read as part of the will), if a proponent of the will can establish by clear and convincing evidence that the testator intended the document - including the extra words - to constitute his or her will.
 
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The question arose in Schilling of how to interpret a holographic will that was signed prior to the 2007 law but not probated (because the testator did not die) until after enactment of the 2007 law. 
 
In particular, Ms. Schilling's son had added certain important words to the will that was otherwise entirely in her handwriting (and which left her entire estate to the same son!), and certain of her other heirs argued that those portions of the will should be invalidated, since it was signed prior to the 2007 law.

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The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the Circuit Court for the City of Hampton (which had granted the protesting heirs' demurrer), holding that Ms. Schilling's will did not take legal effect until her death on September 23, 2008.

The Supreme Court's decision in Schilling illustrates the rule that makes wills special among legal documents:  whereas most documents are governed by the laws in effect at the time they are signed, wills are governed by the laws that are effective as of the date of death.