Gregge v. Hugill CA6
William Hugill died in November 2011. He was 94 years old and survived by four children and seven grandchildren. In 2012, one of his grandchildren, appellant Edward Bennett Gregge (Bennett), filed a petition under Probate Code section 17200 to determine the validity of a 2008 amendment to William’s trust. The petition was denied after a six-day court trial. Sitting in probate, the trial court found appellant failed to establish that William lacked testamentary capacity or was unduly influenced by respondent Michael Hugill (William’s son and appellant’s uncle) at the time the amendment was executed.
Bennett argues on appeal that the trial court applied the wrong mental capacity standard and made erroneous factual findings. As we will explain, the trial court correctly applied the testamentary capacity standard, and the evidence does not compel a finding in Bennett’s favor that William lacked capacity to execute the amendment.
Comments on Gregge v. Hugill CA6