The deceased had been taken ill and his mind affected, but he recovered. For several weeks he behaved normally and wrote a will, but this was within a day of the recurrence of symptoms of his illness which included a fixated idea that he would be eternally damned, having taken communion whilst unworthy. A few days later he was declared insane and died a year later.
Held: Where a will was apparently properly executed and was rational on the face of it, it was to be presumed to be valid and made by a person of proper capacity unless and until the contrary was shown. Once circumstances were shown to exist to counterbalance that presumption, the court must pronounce against the will unless it was established affirmatively that the testator was of sound mind when the will was executed. Here though there was nothing in the will to betray any lack of capacity, circumstances existed to require the shift in the burden of proof, and it was not discharged.
Citations:
(1859) 1 Sw and Tr 401, (1859) 28 LJP and M 83, (1859) 164 ER 785
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Health, Wills and Probate
Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.277880