Can statements of a deceased's mental state be used to prove a state of mind?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Nidever's Estate, In re, 181 Cal.App.2d 367, 5 Cal.Rptr. 343 (Cal. App. 1960):
Appellants also cite cases to the effect that where statements deal with past events and are not indicative of the mental state at the time of utterance, they are ordinarily excluded. However, as was stated in Watenpaugh v. State Teachers' Retirement System, 51 Cal.2d 675, 679, 336 P.2d 165, 168,
'The declarations of a decedent may be admissible under certain circumstances to prove a state of mind at a
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