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Matter of Tracy

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Nov 27, 1995
221 A.D.2d 643 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)

Opinion

November 27, 1995

Appeal from the Surrogate's Court, Westchester County (Brewster, S.).


Ordered that the order and decree is affirmed, with one bill of costs to the respondents appearing separately and filing separate briefs, payable by the appellants personally.

The Surrogate's Court properly set aside the jury's verdict that Dorothy Ennis Tracy lacked testamentary capacity. The appellants never refuted the testimony of the subscribing witnesses that the testatrix was alert, and of sound mind, memory and understanding at the time she executed her will. The appellants offered the testimony of an expert witness, a neurologist, who never knew the testatrix and who never treated her. After an examination of the testatrix's medical records, the appellants' expert concluded that she lacked testamentary capacity to execute her will. His opinion was speculative and contradicted by the testimony of the respondents' witnesses, including expert testimony. As this Court held in Matter of Swain ( 125 A.D.2d 574), speculative expert testimony should not be entitled to any weight (see also, Matter of Vukich, 53 A.D.2d 1029, affd 43 N.Y.2d 668; Matter of Slade, 106 A.D.2d 914, 915; Matter of Langbein, 25 A.D.2d 681).

The appellants' remaining contentions are not properly raised on this appeal. Mangano, P.J., Bracken, Sullivan and Rosenblatt, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Matter of Tracy

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Nov 27, 1995
221 A.D.2d 643 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
Case details for

Matter of Tracy

Case Details

Full title:In the Matter of the Estate of WILLIAM J. TRACY, Deceased. WILLIAM T…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Nov 27, 1995

Citations

221 A.D.2d 643 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
634 N.Y.S.2d 198

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