Succession of Gresham

I have reviewed this case, as we must, with a conscious bias toward upholding the testament of Charles Gresham. Lebleu v. Manning, 225 La. 1087, 74 So.2d 384 (1954). Nonetheless, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the will is valid; the will is invalid because it was witnessed by the sole legatee, a person disqualified as a witness by Civil Code Article 1592. The Statutory Wills Act, its legislative history, and the jurisprudence all indicate that from the date of its enactment the Statutory Wills Act was intended to be read with the provisions of the Civil Code, and where…