Probate Court May Reform A Will If There Is Clear And Convincing Evidence Establishes Mistake In Testator’s Intent.

A man prepared a holographic will providing that, upon his death, his wife would inherit his estate and that if he and his wife died at the same time, specific charities would inherit his estate. The handwritten will, however, contained no provision addressing the disposition of his estate if, as occurred here, he lived longer than his wife. Finding the man died intestate, the probate court entered judgment in favor of the heirs at law, and the charities appealed. The California Supreme Court held that an unambiguous will may be reformed if clear and convincing evidence establishes that the will contains a mistake in the expression of the testator’s intent at the time the will was drafted and also establishes the testator’s actual specific intent at the time the will was drafted. The high court stated:  “We further conclude that the charities’ theory that the testator actually intended at the time he drafted his will to provide that his estate would pass to the charities in the event his wife was not alive to inherit the estate is sufficiently particularized, with respect to the existence of such a mistake and the testator’s intent, that the remedy of reformation is available so long as clear and convincing evidence on both points is demonstrated. Therefore, we will direct this matter to be remanded to the probate court for consideration of whether clear and convincing evidence establishes that such a mistake occurred at the time the will was written and that the testator at that time intended his estate to pass to the charities in the event his wife was not alive to inherit the estate when he died.” (Estate of Duke (Cal. Sup. Ct.; July 27, 2015) 61 Cal.4th 871 [190 Cal.Rptr.3d 295, 352 P.3d 863].)