Facts
[E.], who passed away at the age of eighty-five, left behind three wills and a note with the content "Baroque cabinet to B.". In the last will drafted by [E.], the addition "8. What remains belongs to [B.] and his spouse" had been inserted with a black felt-tip pen. [K.], a great-uncle of [E.], filed a lawsuit against the spouses [B.] and requested that the aforementioned addition to the will be declared invalid, insofar as it would qualify as a testamentary disposition. The cantonal courts dismissed the lawsuit and denied the alleged invalidity of the testamentary disposition.
By means of a federal appeal, [K.] renewed his request before the Federal Supreme Court. After dismissing the constitutional complaint filed by [K.] against the same judgment, the Federal Supreme Court also dismissed the appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court stated that the lack of a place of execution and date does not lead to the invalidity of the addition to the will, as since January 1, 1996, the place of execution is no longer required for the validity of the will, and the date is only required under certain conditions. These provisions also apply to wills executed before January 1, 1996, if the testator passed away after that date.
Regarding the lack of a signature, the Federal Supreme Court found that while this can generally lead to the invalidity of the will, in the present case it does not, as it is a "presumption" of an insertion into the will under an existing signature, and the insertion was demonstrably made by the testator.
The Federal…