Castruccio v. Estate of Castruccio

Summary

The Maryland Court of Appeals held that a will is not invalid merely because the testator and witnesses signed on different pages or because the pages were not physically connected at signing. The court further held that a complete attestation clause and testator initials on each page are not required for valid execution or for the presumption of due execution to attach. The court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the estate.

Holdings

1. A will is not invalid merely because the testator and witnesses sign on different pages of a multi-page will and the pages are not physically connected at the time of signing. Attestation requires two or more credible witnesses to sign the will in the testator's presence, after observing the testator sign or receiving the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or document as his will.
2. A formal or complete attestation clause is not a statutory requirement for valid execution of a will.
3. The testator's initials on every page are not required by Maryland law. An erroneous statement that the pages were initialed does not invalidate an otherwise valid will or prevent the presumption of due execution from attaching when other indicia of due execution exist.
4. The witnesses' inaccurate recollections that the will was stapled and that Peter initialed each page did not create a genuine dispute of material fact because those matters were not legally material to the will's validity and did not provide evidence upon which a jury could reasonably find for Sadie.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a multi-page will is validly attested when the testator and witnesses sign different pages that are not physically connected.
2. Whether a complete attestation clause or the testator's initials on every page is required for valid execution of a will.
3. Whether an imperfect attestation clause and the absence of page initials prevent the presumption of due execution from attaching.
4. Whether the witnesses' recollections that the will was stapled and initialed created a genuine dispute of material fact sufficient to defeat summary judgment.

Disposition

affirmed