“Lavinia Goodell was insane & not of sound mind or memory.”

Maria Frost’s challenge to Lavinia Goodell’s will, 1880

On April 9, 1880, just nine days after Lavinia Goodell died, one of her executors, Janesville attorney Sanford Hudson, filed an application in Dane County court (although Lavinia had lived in Rock County since 1871 and practiced law there for over five years, she had moved to Madison in November of 1879, making her a Dane County resident at the time of her death) to have her will admitted to probate.

The reason for drafting a will, of course, is to make sure that a person’s estate is distributed in the manner they want, rather than having the property automatically pass to the deceased’s next of kin, which is what generally happens when a person dies intestate. An earlier post discussed Kate Kane’s unsuccessful attempt to collect $50 from Lavinia’s estate. This post will discuss attempts by Lavinia’s sister and eldest nephew to invalidate the entire will.

“At the time of her death, Miss Goodell was in debt to me in the sum of $50.”

Kate Kane, January 1881

When Lavinia Goodell drafted her will in July of 1879, she no doubt believed that her estate would be divided exactly as she specified, and she probably did not expect anyone to file spurious claims. Unfortunately, her will was challenged and her friend and fellow Janesville attorney, Kate Kane, filed a claim against the estate.

“In evening, drafted my will.”

Lavinia Goodell, July 4, 1879

In 1879, approximately nine months before she died, Lavinia Goodell spent part of the July 4th holiday drafting her will.

There is no indication that she had previous wills. Both of Lavinia’s parents had died in 1878. She had drafted their wills. Upon their deaths, Lavinia inherited a goodly sum of money and, being a meticulous planner, she no doubt wanted to make sure that when she died, her estate would be distributed precisely the way she wanted. (Read the entire will here.)