Smith v. Ward

George Rose Smith, Justice.

In 1981 the appellee, Charlie Ward, brought this suit in the circuit court to recover possession of a 35-acre tract that had been left to him by the will of his stepmother, Melissie Ward, who died in 1967 without descendants. Her will left the property to her husband, Miles Ward, for life with remainder to Miles’s son, the appellee Charlie. Melissie’s will was never filed for probate. Nevertheless, her surviving husband remained in possession of the property until his own death in 1980. His will purported to leave the property to the appellants, defendants below,…