Machen v. Machen
Annotate this CaseAfter Billy Machen died, his wife Julia filed a petition to probate Billy's will. Julia filed a copy of the will, which bore no changes or markings. That will bequeathed $10,000 to Billy's son Randy and established a testamentary trust for the benefit of Randy's children in the amount of $20,000. Randy opposed the probate of the will, contending that his father had made changes to it. Randy attached a copy of the same typed will, but this copy contained several handwritten changes. Randy filed a complaint against Julia, asserting that there was a family-settlement agreement and that the will was evidence of that agreement. The circuit court found that Billy, Julia, and Randy entered into a family-settlement agreement whereby Randy was to receive $100,000 for himself and $200,000 as trustee for his children. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the undisputed facts showed that the circuit court did not clearly err in finding that Julia and Randy agreed to distribute the assets of Billy's estate in a manner different from his original, unaltered will, and Julia presented no evidence of fraud, duress, or imposition that would render her agreement with Randy unenforceable.
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