Estate of Dominici

In Estate of Dominici (1907) 151 Cal. 181, the trial court found a latent ambiguity where the decedent's will identified a beneficiary by name but described a completely different person. The decedent bequeathed his estate to " 'Heinrich Schluter, and to his sister, my niece, whose name is Marie Kohler, and whose residence is Salzwedel, Altmark, Germany, share and share alike.' " (Id. at p. 183.) Extrinsic evidence revealed that Marie Kohler was not Heinrich Schluter's sister and she had never lived in Salzwedel, Germany. (Id. at pp. 183-184.) The question then became whether the decedent intended the beneficiary to be the niece he named or the one he described. (Id. at pp. 183-184.) The Supreme Court upheld the admission of extrinsic evidence to explain the discrepancy. It did confirm, however, that extrinsic evidence is not admissible to change a testator's intent. (Id. at p. 185.)