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Court thumbs down handwritten will
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Posted on Dec 14 2020
The Superior Court has ruled not to recognize a handwritten will after a finding that the signatures on the will are unverified.
In the estate of Julia Marie Flores Boyer, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho ruled that Boyer’s handwritten will was invalid because the signatures of the testator and witnesses are unverified.
Camacho, during an evidentiary hearing, said there is no testimony to verify that the alleged signatures on the will actually belonged to Boyer and the witnesses, Breanne Cabrera and Ciara Dela Cruz.
Camacho added that the will was not notarized and there wasn’t any evidence, such as affidavits, to verify the authenticity of the will.
Camacho noted that the will was executed outside of the Commonwealth, also failing to comply with CNMI laws or the laws of a foreign jurisdiction.
Camacho said the will fails as a holographic will because its material provisions are not in the testator’s handwriting. Holographic will is an entirely handwritten document by the author, who is also referred to as the testator.
Present at the evidentiary hearing was the estate administrator, Antonio Muna; the lawyer for the estate, George Lloyd Hasselback; and Remasch Mongani, who was in a long-term relationship with Boyer and cohabited with her for over a decade.
The will in question was handwritten by Boyer just weeks before she passed away and was signed in Portland in April 2014. The will basically would have allowed Mongani to continue to live in the home that they shared until he remarried.
Boyer traveled to Portland for medical reasons and Mongani arrived in Portland after Boyer’s passing. He testified that he did not see Boyer draft the will.
Aside from Mongani, the court also heard testimonies from Muña and Boyer’s sister, Guillerma Boyer Peters.
The will also gave Boyer’s siblings ownership of the house.
