Matter of Conservatorship of Sickles

VERNON R. PEDERSON, Surrogate Judge,

dissenting.

The majority opinion, by adopting a generous view of the statute which grants conservators their authority, has provided for the future an easy remedy for persons that hereafter wish to surreptitiously challenge the validity of a will. The words “except the power to make a will” are not words that grant authority but show a restriction thereof. They should be construed in the light of our long-standing tradition of treating wills with appropriate respect. See, e.g., Tooz v. Tooz, 78 N.D. 432, 50 N.W.2d 61 (1951); Stormon v. Weiss, 65 N.W.2d 475…