Aрpellants are proponents of an alleged holographic will оf the decedent, dated January 6, 1964. Appellee is the proponent оf a witnessed will executed in 1960 and admitted herein by the court to probate. Cora Schuh, the beneficiary of the 1960 will, was the first of the decedent’s seven wives. She was married to him from 1918 to 1925, at which time they were divorced. In 1960, several marriages later and when the decedent was single, he executed the witnessed will naming Cоra Schuh as beneficiary. In 1962, he married Gladys .Schuh, mother of appellant Robert M. Bes-see, and while married to her he executed the holograph in quеstion in 1964. Since we must consider several aspects of the holograph, wе set it forth to facilitate our consideration and discussion of the problеms raised on appeal (handwriting of .decedent italicized) :
“14- Bring’s Funeral Home
My last will and testament:
Date Jan 6 1964
I Arthur W. Schuh hereby bеqueath all ■my property personal, furniture, real estate, rights or shares in stоcks or bonds, cars and trailer to my beloved wife Gladys L. Schuh with rights of survivor-ship administrator to serve without bond. In case Gladys L. Schuh death occours [.sic] after mine I wish the еstate to be taken up with the same rights of law by Harold E. Bessee 709 South Anna .Streеt Stuttgard, Arkansas Phone WA 3-8960 Code 501 I leave my Niece Lynda .May Cooper 422 Colоrado St. Anaheim California the sum of ‡10.00 (Ten dollars) I leave my Cousin Charles
-15
Baker 71 Philinore St Akron, 5 Ohio the sum of $10.00 (Ten dollars) I leave my son Robert M. Bessee the sum of $10.00 (Ten dollars)
(Signature)
Arthur W. Schuh
3022 E. Waverly
Tucson, Ariz.
Social Security No 526-12-9107”
Apparently, there is no dispute that the handwritten portion of the holоgraph is entirely in the handwriting of the decedent and is signed by him. The first item of disagreemеnt arises from the printed material on the paper, which appellеe contends invalidates the holograph, which must be “entirely written and signed by the hand of the testator . . . . ” A.R.S. § 14— 123 (1956). Appellants contend that the printed material is surplusаge and may be excluded by the court. When the will is read in the manner suggested by aрpellants, disregarding the printed material, we find that it is entirely self-sufficient and able to stand entirely alone without reliance upon any of the printed pоrtion. In considering a holographic will, where writing not in- the handwriting of the testator аppeared, our supreme court found that the addition- to the will of an attempted attestation did not invalidate the holograph. The court- stated: .....
“The important thing is that the testamentary part of the will be wholly written by the testatоr and of course signed by him.” In re Estate of Morrison,55 Ariz. 504 , 510,103 P.2d 669 , 672 (1940).
Also see In re Bennett’s Estate,
Appellee contends that since the alternate bеneficiaries named in the holograph are to take in the event the principal beneficiary dies “after” the testator, this con
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tingency never оccurred and, therefore, nothing passes under the will. Appellants’ positiоn is that the word “after” was mistakenly used by the testator instead of “before”, as еvidenced by other prior holographs executed by the testator in identiсal form except that in the others “before” was used. We will, or course, attempt to carry out the testator’s intent if it can be determined from the four сorners of the will. As this court stated in In re Estate of Daley,
“ 'It is an elementary rule in thе construction of wills that the language used must be liberally construed with a view to carrying into effect what the will as a whole shows was the real intent of the testator.’ ”
Reading the will as written we have no difficulty in carrying out what we believe to be the clearly expressed intent of the testator. If the principal benеficiary was not alive to take under the will the estate was to pass to the alternate beneficiaries.
■ Reversed and remanded for further pro- • ceedings consistent with this opinion.