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July 28, 2016
When is a suicide note, more than a goodbye message to the world?
I have had the pleasure of assisting a few clients during a very difficult time in their lives. They had a relative take their life, or seemingly take their own life, leaving behind a handwritten note that describes the manner in which they want their Estate to be distributed to their heirs. Consider the following cases:
Case #1: A gentleman marries his long term girlfriend, with whom he has experienced an up and down relationship. Within days of their Las Vegas wedding, she takes off on a party filled trip with her girl friends and others. The gentleman continues to work while she is away, and after a while, decides to rent a room in a local hotel. He ingests a large volume of prescription and non-prescription drugs, and begins to write out a 5 page note detailing the problems in his life. He also expresses his desire to leave his 5 rental homes to his two biological children (from a prior marriage), his car and a few other items to his only brother, and SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDES HIS NEW WIFE from receiving any of his worldly belongings.
I represented the brother, and worked with an attorney who represented the children. The wife attempted to secure all of the assets and burn through the funds. Fortunately, my client became suspicious and hired our firm to investigate the matter. Following a limited time for discovery, and a complete handwriting analysis, the case was presented for trial. Four days of witness testimony and dozens of documents, convinced the court to rule that the gentleman's handwritten note constituted a holographic will. The homes were secured, sold and the assets then deposited into trust accounts for the children. The wife was barred from accessing any additional money, and was physically evicted from the marital home.
The legal requirements for Holographic are specific, but include the general concept of a written note by the declarant, that is dated and signed. In our case, the paperwork was not dated. We were able to arrive at the date through other evidence that was compelling to the Court.
Case #2: An elderly man is taken to the hospital. His wife is to frail to join him, and remains home. When he recovers and returns to the home, he discovers his wife dead. A gun lies on the floor, and a bullet traveled through her scull. A note is discovered in her pocket, leaving their entire estate to the dead wife's sisters. As the couple have no children, their estate would have passed to their siblings.
Following a series of Court hearings, the hand writing analysis confirms that the note was not written by the deceased woman. We believe that her sisters wrote the note and then shot their sister. Fortunately, the sisters are now excluded from the Estate. Criminal charges may be pending.
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