Mere evidence of execution of a will and codicil by a person of weak and inert mind, appointing his attorney and agent sole executor and almost universal legatee of a large property, is insufficient, without proof of instructions by the deceased; instructions for the will being given to the solicitor, who prepared and attested it, by and in the handwriting of the executor’s father (so the deceased’s co-agent and attorney) ; the codicil being prepared exclusively for his own benefit by the executor, in whose house the deceased was living apart from his family ; and other circumstances strongly inferring fraud and circumvention.
Citations:
[1828] EngR 143, (1828) 1 Hag Ecc 384, (1828) 162 ER 621
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Wills and Probate
Updated: 20 December 2022; Ref: scu.322907