Facts

Pierre W. passed away on September 21, 1985, leaving a holographic will dated November 13, 1980. His five children (Françoise S., Julie F., Claire W., Louis W. and Paul W.) are his legal heirs. The will contains the following provisions:

  • Article 2: Appointment of his five children as heirs in equal shares, with substitution of their descendants in case of predeceased.
  • Article 3: Rules of distribution, including the collation of donations made to his sons Paul W. (CHF 50,000) and Louis W. (CHF 60,000).

Before the Vaud Cantonal Court, three of the children (Julie F., Françoise S. and Claire W.) primarily concluded to the nullity of Article 3 of the will, subsidiarily to the nullity of the determination of the collations in favor of Paul and Louis W.

Considerations

According to case law, testamentary provisions made under the influence of an error are null (Art. 469(1) CC) and can be annulled (Art. 519(1)(2) CC). Any error on the motives can lead to annulment if it has had a decisive influence on the provision and the applicant makes it plausible that the testator would have preferred to suppress the provision rather than maintain it.

In the present case, the Cantonal Court found that the testator had the intention to treat his heirs on an equal footing, but that the amounts of the…