## Facts

- Frances Burns Black died domiciled in Long Beach, California.
- Black left a three-page handwritten testamentary instrument prepared on partially preprinted “Last Will and Testament” stationery designed as a commercial will form.
- The parties conceded that all handwriting on the instrument—including the date and Black’s name—was Black’s.
- Black handwritten the dispositive provisions across the pages; much of the form’s printed boilerplate was stricken or ignored.
- On the final page, after the handwritten dispositions, Black filled in preprinted blanks identifying an executor and completing printed date/place phrases.
- The instrument left most of Black’s estate to Gene Ray Bouch and his family, and left her daughter, Daisy Diane Black Rombotis, substantially less than she would receive by intestacy.
- Bouch petitioned to admit the instrument to probate as a holographic will; Rombotis contested.
- The superior court denied probate, reasoning that use of printed words from the form prevented the instrument from qualifying as a holographic will; the court of appeal affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether a testamentary instrument otherwise handwritten by the testator is invalid as a holographic will when the testator fills in blanks on a preprinted will form and thereby incorporates some printed language.
2. Whether the incorporated printed words are “material provisions” such that their presence defeats holographic-will validity under the governing statute.

## Decision

- The California Supreme Court reversed the order denying probate.
- The court held the instrument qualified as a valid holographic will because the signature and material provisions were in Black’s handwriting.
- The limited printed language incorporated by Black (executor designation and date/place connective text) was not material to the testamentary disposition or essential to validity.
- The matter was remanded with directions to admit the instrument to probate as Black’s holographic will.

## Legal Principles

- A holographic will is valid when the testator’s signature and the material provisions of the will are in the testator’s handwriting.
- The presence of printed matter on the document does not invalidate a holographic will unless the printed matter is material to the testamentary disposition or essential to the instrument’s validity as a will.
- “Material provisions” focus on the substantive testamentary content—such as identification of beneficiaries and the property or interests devised—rather than nonessential boilerplate or form language.
- Courts construe holographic-will requirements to uphold a genuine testamentary disposition when the handwritten material provisions reliably show testamentary intent and reduce the risk of fraud.

## Conclusion

The court required admission of Black’s will to probate because her handwritten dispositive terms, signature, and dating satisfied the holographic-will statute, and her limited use of a preprinted form did not introduce printed language material to the disposition.


Estate of Black, 30 Cal. 3d 880, 641 P.2d 754 (Cal. 1982)