Vencie Beard shot and killed his wife, Melba, on April 16, 2011. The death certificate states that
Question:
Vencie Beard shot and killed his wife, Melba, on April 16, 2011. The death certificate states that the time of her death was 8:59 p.m. Vencie shot himself at the same time, but he did not immediately die from his injuries. Rather, he died later that same night at 10:55 p.m. They each had wills that were identical in structure. Paragraph 2.02 of each will provided for specific cash bequests to nine named individuals if both Vencie and Melba died in a common disaster or under circumstances making it impossible to determine which died first. Paragraph 2.03 of each will provided that if the spouse did not survive the testator by 90 days, Janet Lea Hopkins would receive a portion of a tract of land the Beards co-owned. Paragraph 2.04 of each will provided that if the spouse did not survive the testator by 90 days, Matthew C. Hopkins would receive the remaining portion of that tract of land. In paragraph 2.05 of each will, Vencie and Melba gave “the rest and residue” of their estates to their respective spouses. That paragraph further provided that if the spouse did not survive the testator by 90 days, Beverly Kaye Gilmore and Janet Lea Hopkins would receive the residuary estate. The executrix of both estates sought a declaratory judgment from the court to determine whether they died in a common disaster and whether, if so, the Simultaneous Death Act applied to the wills (or only to certain of the paragraphs and not others). What should the court decide?
Step by Step Answer:
Business Law The Ethical Global and E-Commerce Environment
ISBN: 978-1259917110
17th edition
Authors: Arlen Langvardt, A. James Barnes, Jamie Darin Prenkert, Martin A. McCrory