Raymond v. Lillegard

This was a probate proceeding for a decree construing and interpreting decedent’s holographic will. The plaintiffs, daughters of the decedent, were joint personal representatives of the estate. The defendant is the guardian ad litem of the five minor children of the personal representatives, who are potential devisees under the will.

At issue is the question of whether the use of the word "between” in the deceased’s will was intended to create an equal distribution of the proceeds of the estate among the seven named beneficiaries, or whether its use created a patent ambiguity permitting oral…