Silverman

Plaintiff Dorothy Silverman sought quasi-specific performance of a contract to make reciprocal wills. She was only partly successful in the trial court and appeals from that portion of the judgment that was against her.

A brief recital of the facts will serve to frame the issues on appeal and to identify the parties to the action. Plaintiff and her husband, Fred R. Silverman, were married in Massachusetts in 1932 and resided in Los Angeles until his death on August 18, 1963. There were no children of the marriage.

On December 16, 1943, in Los Angeles, plaintiff and her husband entered into a written contract by which they agreed to make irrevocable wills by which each would bequeath his or her entire estate to the survivor and would appoint the survivor as executor or executrix to- serve without bond. That same date plaintiff and her husband each made holographic wills embodying the provisions of the contract.

On May 2, 1958, the husband, contrary to his previous agreement, executed a new will which provided for certain specific bequests to his sisters and various other relatives. Two trusts were created by this will. One trust consisted of common stock of the Union…