A lawyer testified that if New York socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor could not recognize her only son, that would indicate she was mentally incompetent to approve changes to her will.
G. Warren Whitaker, an expert in trust and estates law, said a person's inability to recognize her own child shows she is probably unaware of what she is doing when she signs a will and thus lacks legal "testamentary capacity.''
Whitaker, despite overruled defense objections, was asked by Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann whether a person would be considered mentally competent to sign a will if she thought her only child was her husband.
Witnesses have testified in the eight-week-old trial that Astor referred to son Anthony Marshall as "my husband."
Whitaker: "That would certainly be an indication of lack of testamentary capacity."
Full Article and Source:
Lawyer Tells Of His Role in Astor Will Fight
G. Warren Whitaker, an expert in trust and estates law, said a person's inability to recognize her own child shows she is probably unaware of what she is doing when she signs a will and thus lacks legal "testamentary capacity.''
Whitaker, despite overruled defense objections, was asked by Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann whether a person would be considered mentally competent to sign a will if she thought her only child was her husband.
Witnesses have testified in the eight-week-old trial that Astor referred to son Anthony Marshall as "my husband."
Whitaker: "That would certainly be an indication of lack of testamentary capacity."
Full Article and Source:
Lawyer Tells Of His Role in Astor Will Fight
5 comments:
This is all so unnecessary ---if Brooke Astor made the changes to her will after she was declared incompetent, then they should not apply.
If she did them earlier, then they should apply.
I am sorry for Brooke Astor's legacy that she is the subject of this trial.
She did so much for NY and to think that she'll be remembered for being incompetent instead is very sad.
Such legal proceedings demonstrate the deficiencies in our laws -- deficiencies which I have shown to be promoted by the legal profession's leadership. (Want to know more? Write me at tvfields@oh.rr.com)
Every new article I see about this Brooke Astor sickens me too, Anonymous2. You're right, Brooke Astor will be remembered for this and not the life she led.
It's very sad.
Vultures!
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