In re Estate of Stoker

Stoker (decedent) executed a formal 1997 will naming Gularte and Karotick (plaintiffs) as beneficiaries, then in 2005 wrote and had a friend, Meier, witness him signing a handwritten document expressly revoking the 1997 trust, disinheriting Gularte, and leaving everything to his children Pradia and Darrin (defendants), though the 2005 document was not signed by two witnesses as the probate code technically requires; another friend testified Stoker had urinated on and burned the 1997 will in 2001. After Stoker's death, Gularte petitioned to probate the 1997 will while Pradia petitioned to probate the 2005 document, and the trial court found the 2005 will valid and the 1997 will revoked; Gularte and Karotick appealed.