## Facts

- Henry H. Weber died in 1960 while married to Rosa Weber, who had been adjudicated incompetent and institutionalized.
- Weber told his neighbor, Ben Heer, that he wanted a will and described an intended plan to benefit his wife and a niece.
- Heer took Weber to a bank so the bank president, Harold Holmes, could prepare a will.
- Holmes met Weber in Weber’s parked car, took instructions, and drafted a will on a printed form.
- Holmes mistakenly prepared a will leaving the entire estate to the niece and omitting any provision for Weber’s wife.
- Holmes brought the document to Weber’s closed car; Weber reviewed and signed it while alone in the car.
- Three bank employees remained inside the bank and later signed the document as witnesses at the counter.
- Weber and the witnesses could see each other through a bank window, but there was no verbal exchange; they only waved, and Weber could not see what the witnesses were signing.
- The probate court admitted the instrument to probate; the district court affirmed; the guardian of Rosa Weber appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the instrument was validly executed under G.S. 1949, 59-606 when the testator signed alone in a car and the witnesses signed inside the bank, with only visual contact through a window and no acknowledgment to the witnesses.

## Decision

- The Kansas Supreme Court reversed the admission of the instrument to probate.
- The court held the will was not “signed or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses” and was not properly “attested and subscribed” by them “in the presence of the testator” as required by G.S. 1949, 59-606.
- The instrument was therefore not a valid will and could not be admitted to probate.

## Legal Principles

- Attesting witnesses do more than witness a signature; they should be reasonably satisfied of the testator’s capacity and freedom from restraint or undue influence.
- The statutory “presence” and acknowledgment requirements for will execution demand more than mere visual contact; the setting must permit the witnesses to observe the signing or receive a clear acknowledgment from the testator.
- Execution formalities governing signing/acknowledgment in the witnesses’ presence and attestation in the testator’s presence are mandatory; defects in these core requirements are not cured by substantial compliance.

## Conclusion

Because the testator signed outside the bank without witnesses observing the act or receiving an acknowledgment, and the witnesses signed inside without meaningful interaction with the testator, the statutory execution and attestation requirements were not met and probate was denied.


In re Estate of Weber, 192 Kan. 258, 387 P.2d 165 (Kan. 1963)