Manasse v. Holleb

The petitioners-appellants, Charlotte Frank and Philip Manasse, appeal from an order of the trial court dismissing their petition to contest the validity of the will of their grandmother Anna M. Joffe. The trial court predicated its decision to dismiss on the doctrine of election, which prohibits a party from both accepting a benefit conferred by a will while simultaneously maintaining an action to contest the validity of that document. Since both petitioners had accepted specific legacies granted them under Mrs. Joffe’s will, the trial court found that petitioners had ratified the will and…