Franciscan Sisters Health Care Corp. v. Dean

Defendant Dean, a lawyer, drafted what turned out to be Elizabeth Messmer’s final will February 7, 1978; after making two small specific bequests Messmer gave the residue of her estate to Dean and St. Elizabeth Hospital, the plaintiff, in equal shares. Messmer died in St. Elizabeth Hospital April 10,1979, at the age of 97, and the will was later admitted to probate. According to the estate’s Illinois inheritance tax return, Messmer died owning property and money worth almost $300,000; schedule E of the return shows that the hospital’s and Dean’s shares were each worth approximately $130,000.…