Garrett v. Read

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Beier, J.:

This dispute over the wills of the parents in a blended family requires us to decide whether the district court erred in (1) admitting a scrivener attorney’s testimony about a contemporaneous oral agreement between the parents; (2) holding that the wills were contractual, rendering a later will executed by the surviving parent ineffective; and (3) imposing a constructive trust on the estate property or proceeds.

Plaintiffs Elizabeth Garrett, Calvin Humble, Dale Humble, and Patricia Humble are the children of John Humble. In 1967, their father…