Daniel v. Moye
Annotate this CaseBessie Maae Turner was a widower and had no children. In 1994, Bessie executed a will leaving her entire estate to a nephew, Claude Wilbur Moye. In 2010, Bessie executed a new will and revoked all former wills. In the May 2010 will, Bessie left her entire estate to Claude Michael Moye and his wife, Barbara. She also named Claude’s son and her grandnephew Michael Moye as the executor of the May 2010 will. Bessie died in 2012, leaving her estate to Claude and other nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. Claude would go on to marry several times. Those marriages produced four children in addition to Michael. Claude also died in 2012. Michael admitted Bessie’s will into probate. Despite the existence of numerous other heirs at law of Bessie's, Michael represented in the verified petition to admit the will to probate that he and his wife Barbara were Bessie's only heirs and next of kin. The probate court entered an order admitting the will to probate. Michael then petitioned to admit Claude’s will to probate; the probate ultimately admitted the will into probate and issued letters testamentary to Michael. The heirs of Bessie and Claude appealed the dismissal of their claims in these separate but almost identical actions contesting, respectively, the validity of Turner's and Moye's wills. After careful consideration of the issues presented by the parties, the Alabama Supreme Court remanded case no. 1140819 back to the circuit court for the entry of an order removing the administration of Claude's estate from the probate court to the circuit court. The Court further reversed the circuit court's judgment in case no. 1140819 dismissing the will contest filed by the contestants of Claude's will. The Court remanded case no. 1140820 to the circuit court for the entry of an order removing the administration of Bessie's estate from the probate court to the circuit court. The Court also reversed the circuit court's judgment in case no. 1140820 dismissing the will contest filed by the contestants of Bessie's will.
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