California First Bank v. Lee

Mary L. Foss Stokley died testate on January 28, 1976, leaving a total estate of more than $1 million. She *465 disposed of assets totaling approximately $582,000 by her will and two codicils. In her will executed March 1, 1966, Mrs. Stokley left 1,000 shares of stock in the Wooster Brush Company, valued for death tax purposes at approximately $350,000, to appellants Henry C. Lee and Gladys Lee (600 shares) and appellant Paul Smith (400 shares). Her will also bequeathed $15,000 to the Lees and $1,000 to Smith. Mrs. Stokley’s will further disposed of miscellaneous items of personal property and made further general bequests totaling $16,000, none of which is directly involved in this appeal. She left the residue of her estate to her niece Sara Weed (75 percent) and nephew Arden Yinkey (25 percent).

In the first codicil executed July 18, 1967, Mrs. Stokley revoked the gifts of stock to the Lees and Smith and replaced these gifts with specific bequests of $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. On September 12, 1970, Mrs. Stokley executed a holographic codicil in which she bequeathed 25 shares of Wooster Brush Company stock to Henry C. Lee if he were still employed by the…