Sherman

Appellant filed a petition asking that a certain document, olographic in character, be probated as the last will and testament of Euthanasia S. Meade, deceased. A copy of the purported document accompanied the petition. Upon demurrer it was held that the document was not a will, and upon this appeal the only question presented is, Was the paper testamentary in character?

The document under consideration was in the form of a letter addressed to an undertaker residing in the city of San Jose, and dated some sixteen months prior to the death of the writer. This letter is as follows:

The last paragraph of the writing is the one to which especial importance is attached, as stamping the paper as of testamentary character. It is claimed that by this clause the brother of deceased, Porter Sherman, was not only appointed executor of the estate, but that a devise and bequest to him of all her property is there declared. It is further claimed that, conceding there is no disposition of her estate by the document, still there is an appointment of an executor, and that such fact, standing alone, makes the paper a will and entitled to probate. If the paper appoints an executor, this contention…