In re Estate of Villwock - 142 Wis. 2d 144, 418 N.W.2d 1 (Ct. App. 1987)

Rule:

Wis. Stat. § 146.71 provides:Determination of Death. An individual who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead. A determination of death shall be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.

Facts:

The father and wife were critically injured in a car crash. The trial court found that the father died shortly before his wife and ordered his will, which left everything to his wife, probated accordingly. The effect was to pass the father's entire estate to his wife's estate and, in turn, to her heirs as directed by her will. The daughter sought application of the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act, claiming that testimony on the time of death was contradictory and speculative.

Issue:

Did the circuit err in ordering to probate the father’s estate as though he died before his wife? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

On appeal, the court affirmed because there was insufficient evidence of simultaneous death. Death occurred on failure of the cardio-respiratory system, and the doctor claimed it was beyond medical ability to fix a precise moment when such failure was irreversible. His explanation for conflicts in his original death pronouncement that the father died first and later pronouncement that the wife died first was not incredible as a matter of law.