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NO. COA09-896 NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS Filed: CHARLENE NELSON, Executrix of the ESTATE OF LUCILLE VIRGINIA JONES, Plaintiff v. GERRY BENNETT, INEZ HAGAMAN, LYNDA FREJLACH, BRIAN EANES, STACEY EANES ANGSTADT, WILLIAM HOLT, and DELORES HOLT, Defendants. Appeal by Defendant Lynda Frejlach from order entered 31 March 2009 by Judge Allen Baddour in Chatham County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 19 November 2009. Law Office of Michael W. Patrick, by Michael W. Patrick, for defendant-appellant Lynda Frejlach Burns, Day & Presnell, P.A., by Lacy M. Presnell, III, and James J. Mills, for defendant-appellee Inez Hagaman ERVIN, Judge. Defendant Lynda Frejlach appeals from an order entered by the trial court construing the will of Lucille Virginia Jones to provide that Ms. Jones' will granted Ms. Frejlach a life estate in a house and eleven acres of real property located in Chatham County that was terminable upon the occurrence of certain triggering events. After careful consideration of the arguments advanced in Chatham County No. 08 CVS 1113 15 June 2010

the parties' briefs in light of the record and the applicable law, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

-2I. Factual Background A. Substantive Facts Ms. Jones died testate on 18 February 2008. testament was dated 2 September 1998. Her last will and

Prior to her death, Ms.

Jones owned a house and eleven acres of land located at 493 Gardner Road in Apex, North Carolina. Ms. Frejlach lived in the Gardner

Road residence with Ms. Jones and assisted Ms. Jones with the design and construction of the Gardner Road residence. Ms.

Frejlach alleges that, during this interval, she acquired numerous items of personal property which she stored at the Gardner Road residence based on her understanding that she would inherit the house at some point in the future. In addition, Ms. Frejlach

asserts that Ms. Jones told her on numerous occasions that the residence would be left to her following Ms. Jones' death. In

approximately 1997 or 1998, Ms. Frejlach left the Gardner Road residence and moved to Illinois. After her death, Ms. Jones' will was admitted to probate. Item II. B.6 of Ms. Jones' will provided that: I give the right for life to Lynda Frejlach to live in the house located on the 11 acres of property I own at 493 Gardner Road, Apex, NC, 27502. At her death or if Lynda Frejlach declines to exercise this right, I give this 11 acres of property to my sister, Inez [Hagaman]. This right is only for Lynda Frejlach to live in the house. The house is not to be used for a business or Bed and Breakfast and is not to be leased out by Lynda Frejlach. As indicated earlier, the personal property within the house which I currently own will belong to my sister, Inez [Hagaman], and should not be sold or disposed of by Lynda Frejlach.

-3As of 27 October 2008, Ms. Frejlach had not occupied the Gardner Road residence. According to Ms. Frejlach, the Gardner Road

residence was in "a state of extreme clutter and disorder" at the time of Ms. Jones' death, a situation which made it difficult for Ms. Frejlach to locate and remove all of the items of her personal property which she left in the house at the time of her departure for Illinois and which rendered the house "not fit to live in at present." In addition, Ms. Frejlach contended that she "could not

occupy the Gardner Road residence until many items of [Ms. Jones'] personal property

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