Ernest v. Chumley

Plaintiffs, Deborah D. Ernest and John P Sonneborn, appeal from the trial court’s August 2009 order denying, in part, their complaint to construe a will. Deborah and John argue that the court erred by finding that the mutual will executed by defendant, Dorothy L. Chumley, f/k/a Dorothy L. Sonneborn, and their since-deceased father, Robert A. Sonneborn, was not enforceable during Dorothy’s lifetime. We affirm and remand with directions.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Undisputed Facts

In October 1989, Robert and Dorothy married, each having had two children from a previous marriage. (Dorothy did not give…