Godoy v Bol and Dawson
| Jurisdiction | Belize |
| Judge | Benjamin, C.J. |
| Judgment Date | 28 March 2012 |
| Court | Supreme Court (Belize) |
| Docket Number | 502 of 2011 |
| Date | 28 March 2012 |
Supreme Court
Benjamin, C.J.
502 of 2011
Mr. E. Andrew Marshalleck, SC, for the claimant.
Mrs. Tricia Pitts-Anderson for the defendant.
Will - Validity — Testamentary capacity.
Kenneth Ashton Godoy died on February 27, 2010. The claimant, Glennis Glenda Godoy, is his only child. These proceedings are to determine the validity of the purported will of the deceased dated October 9, 2009. The first defendant and the second defendant are named in the said Will.
On October 18, 2010, the claimant applied for the grant of Letters of Administration for her father's estate. There following a caveat filed by the first defendant on December 13, 2010 against the grant on the basis that a valid will existed. The first defendant claimed to be the sole executrix of the said will, in which the second defendant was the named ‘bennefactor’; this was set out in an appearance to a warning to the caveat.
The claimant in her Statement of Claim, contested the validity of the will on three separate grounds: firstly, that the will, ex facie, was not executed in accordance with the Wills Act, Chapter 203; secondly, that the deceased lacked the testamentary capacity to execute the will; and thirdly, further or in the alternative, that, on its true construction the will did not operate to bequeath any property to the second defendant or to appoint the first defendant as executrix of the deceased's estate.
The claimant did not pursue the first ground and conceded on the basis of the defendant's witnesses that the will was executed by the deceased signing the same in the presence of two witnesses present at the same time and that the said witnesses subscribed and attested to the will in the presence of the testator.
The defendants denied that the testator lacked the mental capacity to execute the will and they asserted that he was possessed of all his faculties at the time the will was executed. Further, it was averred that by the tenor of the will, the first defendant was nominated and appointed as executrix and that the deceased's property was bequeathed to the second defendant.
The claimant seek a declaration that the will is invalid and of no effect and an order for the grant of Letters of Administration of the estate of the deceased to her. The defendants contrarily seek a declaration that the will is valid and an order for the grant of probate to the first defendant.
The facts of the case are gleaned from the witness statements and the cross-examination of the witnesses together with the will itself. Although, the first defendant acknowledged service, she did not offer any testimony at trial nor did she appear.
As a consequence of the claimant's concession as to the will being duly and properly executed, the Court is concerned with determining the testamentary capacity of the deceased and the construction of the will itself. It can be taken as common ground that the deceased attended at the home of Isaac Johnson, a Justice of the Peace, on October 9, 2009 and signed the will in his presence and that of Donald Roches. Mr. Roches then signed, followed by Mr. Johnson who signed and stamped the document in the deceased's presence. Subsequently, Joan Perrera, who had remained behind in the vehicle, signed the document in the deceased's presence. There is evidence of a purported typewritten copy of a will but that is of no moment as the same was only attested and subscribed by one witness, Mr. Isaac Johnson.
The claimant was born on May 27, 1961 in the Stann Creek District. Her parents, Kenneth Godoy and Gregoria Godoy nee Pandy were married at the time. She lived with them for a short time at Pomona in the Stann Creek District. Thereafter she lived with her mother until the latter left Belize for the United States of America when she was nine years old. She lived with her grandmother in Dangriga and for one year with her grandaunt in Belize City until she left Belize to live with her mother. She was then 13 years if age. She returned to reside in Belize in February 2010 after the death of her father
Apart from the brief period after she was born, the claimant's parents never lived together again. Indeed, her mother has resided in the United States of America from the time she left Belize when the claimant was nine years old up to the present. The claimant recalled first visiting her father in Corozal Town when she was four years old. There was no contact between them until the claimant lived with her grandaunt in Belize City one year before leaving Belize. On the first visit, her father was at the Sea View Mental Hospital. The visits continued there at midday on weekdays for some months. After the claimant attained the age of 18 years on her occasional visits to Belize, she visited her father at the St. John's College where he worked as a groundskeeper and lived alone in a trailer. Between visits, she called her father every three months and sometimes he would speak with her. Otherwise, she kept indirect contact with him through Ms. Isabel Haylock at the College and through her cousins.
The claimant admitted that she became aware that her father was not well about two weeks before his death. She also admitted that he never told her himself that he was retiring. There is evidence from Father Timothy Thompson of the Jesuit Community that Kenneth Godoy retired from his employment as groundskeeper at the College around 2005 but that he continued to reside in the trailer.
Subsequent to the death of her father, the claimant met with the second-named defendant and others at the St. John's College compound. She was then informed that her father had made a will. She denied prior knowledge of the will.
The claimant's case included a document to the effect that the records of the Seaview/Rockview Hospital showed that Kenneth Godoy was admitted on February 3, 1970 and June 15, 1970 with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. There was no record of when he was discharged.
Direct evidence of admission to the Sea View Mental Institution was furnished by Leonard Mortis, who worked there as a nurse during the committal of Kenneth Godoy. He stated that Kenneth Godoy was a resident of the Institution and was cared for and treated there until he went to work at St. John's College in Kings Park in 1974. He recalled seeing him and speaking with him at the College on about three occasions.
The claimant did not shed any light on her father's mental illness. She simply recalled visiting him at the Sea View Mental Institution and that he spoke very little during those visits. In addition, he did not always take her phone calls when she became an adult.
Leonard Mortis worked at Sea View Mental Institution then at Rock View Mental Institution, until his retirement in 1999. He confirmed that Kenneth Godoy was never re-admitted to Sea View nor was he ever at Rock View. His recollection was that Kenneth Godoy was one of the good patients who was able to function on his own although undergoing treatment. Such was his behaviour that the witness pondered as to why the patient was at Sea View. Subsequently, when he saw him working at St. John's College, he looked fit and appeared to be doing well. He recalled that Kenneth Godoy spoke well and was fully aware of himself.
Isaac Johnson, the Justice of the Peace, who witnessed the will, testified on behalf of the defendants. In his witness statement, he said that he met Kenneth Godoy at St. John's College in around the year 2001. They spoke and thereafter developed a friendship. Their short conversations covered current topics. In the words of the witness: “He did not show any indication to me that he was senile or crazy or was forgetting things. He held rational conversations with me.”
In detailing the events leading up to the execution of the will, Isaac Johnson was certain that Kenneth Godoy was clear that he wished to make a will. He never sought to find out whether Kenneth Godoy could read or write, but he did witness him signing the document which purported to be a will. At the time, Mr. Johnson observed him to be okay and not senile.
Father Timothy Thompson is a Jesuit priest and retired lecturer of the St. John's College and resided at that compound. He confirmed that Kenneth Godoy was employed there and resided there until his death. He often spoke with Kenneth Godoy and he found him to have presence of mind and to be coherent and logical with no lapse of memory. He, Father Thompson, did not observe any violent tendencies or any mental deficiency. He was aware that Kenneth Godoy had been institutionalized but did not know of the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
The second defendant stated that she is a teacher and that she came to know Kenneth Godoy from since she was a little girl accompanying her mother and siblings to the St. John's College compound to seek assistance. He became a friend of the family and she would visit him regularly at his trailer. Her mother performed chores for him and in turn he assisted her with school fees, uniforms, books, and food among other things. Later on, the second defendant was permitted to drive his car and do errands for him.
The second defendant freely stated that she was unaware that Kenneth Godoy had had a mental breakdown and was institutionalized. She said:
“Throughout the time I knew him, up until his death the Deceased was always rationale (sic) and did not seem to be like anyone who had a mental problem.”
Further, she was not aware that Kenneth Godoy had any children, far less a daughter.
The witness statement provided a narrative detailing the steps on October 9, 2009 when the will was executed. She stated that she visited him at his trailer and saw him writing. He then stopped writing and she continued writing at his dictation. During...
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