## Facts

- Alta L. Kerr had five children; one daughter died shortly after childbirth, and Kerr and her husband raised the daughter’s son, William Northway, Jr.
- Kerr’s long-standing estate plan (1953 will and later codicils, and a 1971 will) generally divided her estate in equal shares among William and Kerr’s four surviving children.
- In 1974, at age 99, Kerr suffered a stroke and thereafter became agitated, confused, and intensely suspicious and hostile toward William.
- Kerr believed, without factual basis, that William caused her hospitalization and was attempting to take her property.
- On August 22, 1974, Kerr executed a new will drastically reducing William’s share to less than 2% of the residuary estate, effectively excluding him compared to prior plans.
- A neuropsychiatrist testified Kerr could generally understand her property and family relationships but was delusional specifically regarding William; other testimony contradicted the factual premises of Kerr’s beliefs about William.

## Issues

1. Whether legally and factually sufficient evidence supported the jury’s finding that Kerr lacked testamentary capacity because an insane delusion about William directly influenced the 1974 will.
2. Whether the trial court’s jury instruction defining “insane delusion” correctly stated governing law and properly required a causal connection between the delusion and the will.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the judgment setting aside the 1974 will.
- The evidence permitted a finding that Kerr held a fixed belief about William with no reasonable basis in fact and that this belief was delusional rather than a mere mistake.
- The sharp deviation from decades of equal treatment, occurring after the stroke and focused hostility toward William, supported a finding that the delusion directly affected the testamentary disposition.
- The jury charge on insane delusion accurately stated the law by distinguishing delusion from mistake and requiring that the delusion influence the execution of the will.

## Legal Principles

- A testator may be generally competent yet lack testamentary capacity if a specific insane delusion directly influences the terms of the will.
- An insane delusion is a belief in supposed facts that do not exist, that no rational person would believe under the circumstances, and that has no reasonable basis in fact.
- When only a specific delusion (rather than general insanity) is shown, the will is invalid only if the delusion directly influenced the testamentary act or disposition.
- Jury instructions on insane delusion are proper when they require findings both that (1) the belief is delusional (not merely mistaken) and (2) the delusion influenced the will’s execution or terms.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the jury’s determination that a stroke-related, factually baseless delusion about William caused Kerr to alter her long-standing testamentary plan, and it affirmed invalidation of the 1974 will because the delusion directly influenced the disposition.


Spruance v. Northway, 601 S.W.2d 153 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1980)