Carpenter v. Bailey

Citations

• 79 Cal. 382
• 21 P. 835
• 1889 Cal. LEXIS 737

Syllabus

<p>Contest oe Will—Mental Incompetence—Evidence—Opinions op Witnesses — Discretion as to Proof of Intimacy. — Upon the trial of a contest of a will which is determined upon an issue as to the testamentary capacity of the deceased, it is not error to admit the opinion of a witness as to the mental sanity of the deceased, when there is considerable'evidence to the point of his intimacy, although the showing of intimacy may not be very strong. The determination of the question of intimacy, where such evidence is admitted, is in the discretion of the court. But there is a distinction between the admission and the rejection of such evidence, and it is error for the court to refuse to allow the opinion of the witness as to the mental sanity of the deceased to be given, when the showing of intimacy is sufficient.</p> <p>Id. — Evidence as to Change of Mental Condition. —It is error, upon such trial, to refuse to allow a witness to testify whether or not there had been any change in the mental condition or capacity of the deceased, provided the witness was asked for facts about the change, and not for a conclusion. A marked change in a man’s habits of thought is strong evidence of mental unsoundness, and the absence of such change is evidence of the contrary.</p> <p>In. — Instructions—Province op Jury. —Upon the trial of an issue as to the mental competency of a testator, it is for the jury to say whether the will of a bachelor giving his property to the children of his business partner, instead of to his brothers and their children in the Eastern states, was unnatural; and an instruction characterizing such will as unnatural is improper and prejudicial.</p>