Zimmerman

Appeal from part of a judgment determining heirship. The question is the proper construction of a will.

The holographic will of the decedent, Kathryn Whitney, reads:

The court found the will is ambiguous and uncertain but that it means there shall be distributed to the three charities, to be equally divided among them, 25 per cent of the distributable estate. The judgment decreed that on distribution of the estate 8% per cent of the distributable assets of the estate be distributed to each charity and that 75 per cent be distributed to decedent’s grandson, Robert A. Zimmerman. Robert A. Zimmerman appeals from that part of the judgment decreeing that 8% per cent of the distributable assets of the estate be distributed to each charity.

Appellant claims that by the phrase “money from estate” the testatrix meant only cash, and not the distributable assets of the estate as held by the probate court. Respondents say the probate court’s interpretation of the will is in accord with the intention of the testatrix and the applicable law.

At the hearing, the probate court, over appellant’s objection, admitted in evidence an undated holograph in the handwriting of decedent and a part of…