## Facts

- Ada B. Padgett executed a will on April 15, 1970 leaving her entire estate to her daughter, Mary Elizabeth DeLoach Fletcher.
- A prior will divided Padgett’s estate equally among her three children, whose financial circumstances were relatively similar.
- Padgett died on October 31, 1975, and Fletcher offered the 1970 will for probate on November 19, 1975.
- Padgett’s son and granddaughter contested the 1970 will, alleging Padgett lacked testamentary capacity when she executed it.
- Contestants introduced evidence that in 1970, after the death of a son, Padgett became depressed and at times disoriented.
- Witnesses described a decline in Padgett’s physical appearance and personal hygiene around the time of the 1970 will.
- The trial court found the will properly executed and found no undue influence or fraud; the only question submitted to the jury was testamentary capacity.
- The jury found Padgett lacked testamentary capacity, and the trial court denied probate; Fletcher’s motion for new trial (insufficient evidence) was denied.

## Issues

1. Whether sufficient evidence supported the jury’s finding that the testatrix lacked testamentary capacity when she executed the April 15, 1970 will.
2. Whether the trial court erred in denying the proponent’s motion for a new trial on the ground that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed the judgment refusing probate of the will.
- The court held there was evidence from which the jury could reasonably find lack of testamentary capacity at the time of execution.
- The court held the verdict was not “clearly wrong and unjust,” and the denial of a new trial was proper.

## Legal Principles

- Testamentary capacity requires mind and memory sufficient to recall the property to be devised, the natural objects of one’s bounty, and the disposition desired, and to understand the nature and consequences of making a will and the relation of its elements to each other.
- A testator is presumed to have testamentary capacity; the contestant bears the burden to prove incapacity.
- In a will contest tried to a jury, appellate review is highly deferential; the verdict will not be disturbed unless shown to be clearly wrong and unjust, particularly where evidence is conflicting and credibility is for the jury.

## Conclusion

Because contestants presented evidence of mental and behavioral decline around the time of execution, the jury could find the testatrix lacked testamentary capacity, and the Supreme Court of Alabama refused to reweigh the evidence, affirming both the verdict and the denial of a new trial.


Fletcher v. DeLoach, 360 So. 2d 316 (Ala. 1978)