What is the testator's testamentary capacity in making a will?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Stewart v. Downey (Estate of Stewart), A148396, A148501, A150463, A151849 (Cal. App. 2019):

" '[T]estamentary capacity involves the question of whether, at the time the will is made, the testator " 'has sufficient mental capacity to understand the nature of the act he is doing, to understand and recollect the nature and situation of his property and to remember, and understand his relations to, the persons who have claims upon his bounty and whose interests are affected by the provisions of the instrument.' " [Citations]. It is a question, therefore, of the testator's mental state in relation to a specific event, the making of a will.' " (Andersen v. Hunt (2011) 196 Cal.App.4th 722, 727.)

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