CLARK STURM, APPELLANT,
v.
WAYNE GIBSON, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS EXECUTOR OF THE LAST WILL OF DELLA SWAN, DECEASED, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1966-04-29
No. 5897
HOBSON, J., and OVERTON, BEN F., Associate Judge, concur.
185 So. 2d 732 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1966) Caution
Cited by 8 cases

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Synopsis

Clark Sturm appealed the denial of his petition to revoke probate of Della Swan's will, arguing that Wayne Gibson, the executor and ranch beneficiary, exercised undue influence over the testatrix. The court affirmed, finding no evidence that Gibson participated in procurement of the will despite a confidential relationship between them.


Holding

The court affirmed the county judge's denial of revocation, holding that although a confidential relationship existed between Gibson and Swan, Gibson did not participate in the procurement of the will's execution. The mere fact of a confidential relationship without active participation in procuring the will does not constitute undue influence.


Key Quotes

“over-persuasion, duress, force, coercion, or artful or fraudulent contrivances to such a degree that there is destruction of the free agency and will power of the one making the will”

Defines the legal standard for undue influence under Florida law

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Facts & Procedural History

Della Swan, a Florida resident, executed a will naming Wayne Gibson (her former ranch foreman and household resident) as executor and beneficiary of h…

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Opinion of the Court
LILES, Acting Chief Judge.

LILES, Acting Chief Judge.

This is an appeal from an order of the county judge of Pasco County denying the revocation of probate of the will of Della Swan, deceased.

This cause was previously before this court where we approved a compromise and settlement agreement between the executor of the Estate of Della Swan and certain heirs of the decedent’s husband, Theodore *733Swan. Sturm v. Gibson, 159 So.2d 917 (D.C.A.Fla.1964).

Della Swan was a resident of Florida at the time of her death and executed a will wherein she named Wayne Gibson executor of the estate and the beneficiary of a ranch owned by hér in Pasco County, Florida. Wayne Gibson had been her foreman on a ranch previously owned by Mrs. Swan in New Mexico and had occupied the same dwelling house of the deceased for some time prior to her death. The will also named the contestant heir, Clark Sturm, as a residuary legatee and left him the sum of $5,000.00 as a cash legacy. During the pendency of the probation, Clark Sturm filed his petition seeking revocation of probate, and after taking testimony in the cause the court entered its order refusing to revoke the probation of the will.

The main thrust of contestant’s argument for revocation is undue influence exerted upon the testatrix by Wayne Gibson and is directed to the devise of the ranch located in Pasco County, Florida, to Wayne Gibson.

We are familiar with the rule laid down in Heasley v. Evans, 104 So.2d 854 (D.C.A. Fla. 1958) which enunciates the rule that in order to invalidate a will because of undue influence, such influence must amount to:

“ * * * over-persuasion, duress, force, coercion, or artful or fraudulent contrivances to such a degree that there is destruction of the free agency and will power of the one making the will. Mere affection, kindness, or attachment of one person for another may not of itself constitute undue influence. * * * ”

We are likewise familiar with the rule that mere confidential relationship without more does not amount to undue influence, and also the rule that one who occupies a confidential relationship with a testator and was active in the procurement of a will creates a presumption of fact that the will is the result of undue influence, and the burden will be upon the beneficiary to show that such influence was not exercised.

We have meticulously searched the record and find that there was certainly a confidential relationship between Wayne Gibson and the testatrix. However, we fail to find that Wayne Gibson participated in the procurement of the execution of the will. His only act was to drive the testatrix to the lawyer’s office, and according to the testimony of the lawyer who drew the will, Wayne Gibson was not present when the will was executed nor did he know its contents until the death of Mrs. Swan. There was some testimony that Wayne Gibson recommended the attorney who drew the will but as is the county judge’s prerogative, he chose either to disregard this testimony or find that this was not sufficient to show that Wayne Gibson procured the execution of the will. We are in accord with this finding.

The fact that the county judge may or may not have made a statement that he did not consider some of the evidence in making his decision is immaterial. He was the trier of the facts and his decision will be given the same weight as any other trier of fact and unless there is a “palpable misconception of fact or manifest misapprehension or misapplication of law” his decision will not be disturbed.

For the foregoing reasons the probate court’s order denying revocation of probation is hereby affirmed.

HOBSON, J., and OVERTON, BEN F., Associate Judge, concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • …t [*702] wherever one person trusts in and relies upon another. Several Florida cases have considered the question of “active procurement”. See In Re Peters’ Estate, 155 Fla. 453, 20 So. 2d 487 (1945); In Re Knight’s Estate, supra; Sturm v. Gibson, 185 So. 2d 732 (Fla.App.2d 1966); In Re Estate of MacPhee, supra; and In Re Smith’s Estate, 212 So. 2d 74 (Fla.App. 4th 1968). The latest of these cases, In Re Smith’s Estate, supra, contains a qualitative discussion and synopsis of the prior cases on the point. S…
  • In re Est. of Winnie Smith, 212 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 4th DCA 1968)
    …sire to make a will and when she gave here attorney instructions on making the will. The court stated that the law should require a more active or definite participation than this in order to raise the presumption. In Sturm v. Gibson, Fla.App.1966, 185 So. 2d 732, the beneficiary had been a ranch foreman for the testatrix and had occupied the same dwelling house with the deceased for some time prior to her death. His activity consisted of recommending the attorney who drew the will and driving the testatrix…
  • In re Est. of Coketine Bray Carpenter, 239 So. 2d 506 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970)
    …s to such a degree that there is destruction of the free agency and will power of the one making the will. In re Peters’ Estate, 1945, 155 Fla. 453, 20 So. 2d 487; In re Starr’s Estate, 1935, 125 Fla. 536, 170 So. 620; Sturm v. Gibson, Fla.App.1966, 185 So. 2d 732; In re Bailey’s Estate, Fla. [*509] App.1960, 122 So. 2d 243; Heasley v. Evans, Fla.App.1958, 104 So. 2d 854. Of course, direct proof of undue influence of the above-described type is seldom available (there was none in this case) as a consequence…

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