Estate of Bliss

Horowitz & Howard for Contestant and Respondent.

Two cases consolidated for purposes of trial are before us likewise consolidated for purposes of appeal.

The first is a contest of a will and the second is a complaint by the executors of the will to set aside an inter vivos gift made by the decedent to the proponent of the will. At the trial, pursuant to stipulation, the contestant, a niece of decedent, and the executors in the gift case were referred to as "plaintiffs," and the proponent of the will and defendant in the gift case was known as "defendant."

The decedent, Walter R. Bliss, died August 3, 1959, at the age of 83 and he left an estate in excess of $200,000 after having made a gift of approximately $76,000, the validity of which was challenged in the gift suit. A will dated March 24, 1959, left the residue of the estate in equal shares to William James Williams, the proponent and defendant, and to the four nieces (including the contestant Frances Crosby), and one nephew of decedent. A previous will dated August 12, 1958, left the estate (excluding a few specific bequests of personal property) to the nieces and nephew equally. The March 24, 1959, will was…