- 18 - time he executed his 1982 will, decedent was clearly under a legal obligation to retain Kathleen as a beneficiary on his life insurance in an amount of at least $100,000, since the spouses were not then divorced and Kathleen had of course not remarried. The 1982 will directs decedent's executor "to carry out those obligations of mine set forth in the aforementioned Deed of Separation which survive my death." No such language appears in Article IV of the 1984 and 1987 wills. The 1984 and 1987 wills make no reference to any event terminating decedent's obligation, yet, it is clear that once both conditions were met, decedent would no longer have any such obligation under the Deed of Separation. Mr. Johnson, the attorney who drafted the 1984 and 1987 wills, failed to consult the Deed of Separation and, if he knew about the divorce and Kathleen's remarriage, he failed to consider the effect of Kathleen's remarriage when drafting those later wills. Mr. Johnson was wholly unfamiliar with the terms of the Deed of Separation; he simply accepted decedent's representation that the 1982 will mirrored the terms of the Deed of Separation and that decedent did not want any changes in Article IV of the will except a few minor word changes which Mr. Johnson made. The Court accepts that the 1982 will did mirror decedent's obligation under the Deed of Separation at the time that will was executed; however neither Mr. Johnson nor decedent seems to have considered the fact that in the intervening period there had ensued a divorce and Kathleen's remarriage. In anyPage: Previous 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Next
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