Hershman-Tcherepnin v. Tcherepnin

Composer Ivan Tcherepnin3 drafted his last will and testament less than one month prior to his death. In it, he bequeathed one-fifth of the family home and “the right to remain there for as long as she desires” to his friend and recent bride, the petitioner, Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin. He also bequeathed one-fifth of the family home to each of his four children by an earlier marriage to Anne Tcherepnin.

*219The children contend that he bequeathed a present possessory interest in the property to all five devisees. The petitioner contends that he bequeathed to her a life estate in the property,…