The state supreme court affirmed a Lincoln County decision discarding a 2021 document drafted by Douglas G. Todd's unmarried partner, Judy Sheets. Although Todd signed and dated the document following his own instructions, Sheets acknowledged writing the actual distribution provisions herself. Consequently, the court reinstated a 1984 will directing all of Todd's property to his sons following his January 2025 death.
Key points
A testator's signature alone cannot validate a handwritten will if the core provisions we…: A testator's signature alone cannot validate a handwritten will if the core provisions were written by another individual.
The judicial determination directs the entire estate to Todd's sons under the restored te…: The judicial determination directs the entire estate to Todd's sons under the restored terms of a 1984 will.
Nebraska holographic will statutes strictly enforce handwriting requirements regardless o…: Nebraska holographic will statutes strictly enforce handwriting requirements regardless of oral instructions given to a partner.
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A handwritten will can offer a simple way to distribute property after death, but who actually writes its contents can determine whether it is legally valid. In Nebraska, a dispute over a two-page handwritten document has ended with the state
Supreme Court ruling that a man's signature was not enough to make the document a valid will when its important provisions had been written by someone else.
In its October 30, 2026,
opinion, available on Justia, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that a 2021 document could not replace Douglas G. Todd's original 1984 will. The dispute involved his longtime unmarried partner, Judy Sheets, who claimed that Todd had instructed her to write the document and had signed and dated it himself. However, she acknowledged that the material provisions were in her handwriting. The court held that this did not satisfy Nebraska's requirements for a handwritten, or holographic, will.
A decades-long relationship and two competing wills
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