## Facts

- Robert E. Erickson died in June 1983; a formally executed 1955 will was admitted to probate.
- In 1985, Tatsumi Misaka sought probate of an alleged holographic will dated August 22, 1973, consisting of three handwritten 3" x 5" index cards.
- The cards contained abbreviated dispositive provisions distributing real property, business interests, insurance proceeds, and stock among Erickson’s wife, children, and Misaka.
- Erickson’s name appeared only in an introductory clause: “Last Will & Test I Robert E. Erickson ...”; the cards lacked a closing signature or signature line.
- Evidence showed the cards were entirely in Erickson’s handwriting, and the written name resembled the signature style he used on checks and stock certificates.
- The estate offered evidence that Erickson frequently wrote informal notes on similar cards (sometimes while intoxicated) and argued the cards were notes for a will never prepared.
- The trial court admitted the cards as a valid holographic will; the court of appeals reversed for failure to prove “signatory intent.”

## Issues

1. Whether the estate preserved for appellate review the argument that Erickson lacked intent to sign the alleged holographic will.
2. Whether the proponent proved that Erickson wrote his name with intent to affix his signature, as required for a valid holographic will under Utah Code § 75-2-503.

## Decision

- The Utah Supreme Court held the signatory-intent issue was preserved because the estate’s theory that the cards were merely notes put execution (including intent to sign) in dispute.
- The court affirmed the court of appeals, holding Misaka failed to prove Erickson intended the name in the exordium clause to serve as a signature.
- The three cards were not admitted as a holographic will, leaving the 1955 will operative.

## Legal Principles

- A holographic will must be “signed” by the testator as required by Utah Code § 75-2-503; a signature requires evidence of intent to execute and authenticate the instrument as a will.
- A testator’s handwritten name within the body of a document, including an exordium clause, is not a signature absent sufficient proof it was written with signatory intent.
- The proponent of a purported holographic will bears the burden of proving signatory intent; proof of handwriting and signature-like appearance alone is insufficient.
- Evidence that a writing resembles informal notes, lacks a concluding signature, or appears disordered may support an inference that the writing was not executed as a will.

## Conclusion

The court rejected probate of three handwritten index cards because the proponent did not prove that the decedent intended the name written in the introductory clause to function as a signature, a required element for a holographic will under Utah law.


Matter of Estate of Erickson, 806 P.2d 1186 (Utah 1991)