In re the Estate of Payne

In this will contest, decedent had executed a will with a specific provision for his estate to pay to the joint tenant of a property he owned in Maine an amount equivalent to the mortgage debts on that property. Other than the “payment of all my just debts” clause, the will did not have a provision for the estate to pay the mortgage debts on decedent’s home in New Jersey. Decedent bequeathed his New Jersey property to his partner, who lived with him in that residence. The trial court concluded that decedent’s partner and not the estate was responsible for payment of the mortgage debts on the…