Opinion
File No. 87097
For the revocation of a will, there must be (1) an intent to revoke it, and (2) an act done as prescribed by the statute (§ 6956). The testatrix attempted to alter the fourth article of her will by substituting one name for another, and she cut out the eighth and ninth articles with scissors. Held: 1. The attempted alteration of the fourth article was ineffectual. 2. Since an intent to revoke this article or the will as a whole was not found, and the original provision was decipherable, it was given effect. 3. Articles eighth and ninth were effectively revoked.
Memorandum filed October 2, 1958
Memorandum of decision in appeal from probate. Appeal sustained.
Carol C. Johnson, pro se.
T. Holmes Bracken, of New Haven, for defendant Maurice B. Johnson.
Gumbart, Corbin, Tyler Cooper, of New Haven, for defendant Andre F. Johnson.
There are two essentials to the revocation of a will. The first is an intent in the testator to revoke it, and the second, an act done as prescribed by the statute. General Statutes § 6956; Harchuck v. Campana, 139 Conn. 549, 552.
There was clearly no intent to revoke the whole will here. From what the testatrix said and did I find that her intent was to change the beneficiary of article fourth and to revoke articles eighth and ninth. She probably intended to have a new will drawn to incorporate these changes, but this she never did. The statute provides: "No will or codicil shall be revoked in any other manner except by burning, cancelling, tearing or obliterating it by the testator . . . ." By substituting the name "Andre F." for "Carol Clement" Johnson in the fourth article, the testatrix made an illegal and ineffectual attempt to alter this article. Miles' Appeal, 68 Conn. 237, 245. By cutting out with scissors the eighth and ninth articles, which contained minor bequests, she effectively revoked these articles under the statute. Id. 246.
Alterations made by a testator in a duly executed will which leave the original provisions decipherable and which are not made with the formalities required do not revoke the instrument in whole or in part, unless the intention so to do is made out, and the will must be established as originally executed. In re Knapen's Will, 75 Vt. 146, 150. The attempted alteration in article fourth did not revoke the entire will, and it was ineffectual to change that article.