Barnes v. Marshall

467 S.W.2d 70 (1971)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Dr. A. H. Marshall executed a will that made specific bequests of testator's home and office furniture and equipment. The remainder was devised to trustees, with annual payments to be made from the income to various individuals, churches, charities, and fraternal organizations. P, her husband, and two children were to receive $5.00 each per year. The estate was appraised in the inventory at $525,400. P filed an action contest the will and two codicils. Ds are the beneficiaries of the will. P provided witnesses and extensive testimony that Marshall believed God spoke directly to him, he was a prophet, that God revealed secrets to him because he was God’s right-hand man and had special powers. He also told people that he had run for Congress on two occasions and had run for President of the United States on two or three occasions. The Dr. also became extremely agitated and animated when he addressed punishments that God would be inflicting. He would leave the house on many instances, only wearing a nightgown and exposed himself to other parties. Many testified that the Dr. was not of sound mind. Two doctors testified that he was manic depressive and of unsound mind. They stated that the Dr. was incapable of generalized logical thinking. Additional testimony from a dozen other witnesses all related unusual conduct and statements. A number of these witnesses testified that testator had told them of various men who had wronged him and that he had turned them over to the Lord who meted out punishment in the form of financial loss, illness, death, or all three; that when he would tell of these things he would speak loud, get excited, his face would become red, his eyes bulge out, and he would gesture violently; that testator was unreasonably jealous of his wife and often said that all women who wore short skirts, or smoked, were immoral. Ds contend that most of P's evidence dealt with testator's 'sickness, peculiarities, eccentricities, miserliness, neglect of person or clothing, forgetfulness, anger, high temper, unusual or peculiar political and religious views, jealousy, mistreatment of family, unusual moral views, and repeating of stories, which are not evidence of testamentary incapacity or of unsound mind.' The jury found for P. Ds appealed.