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Keywords

appealburden of proofprobatewillappellantappellee
statuteprobatewill

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New York State Library School Ass’n, Inc. v. Atwater, 227 Md. 155, 175 A.2d 592

Facts

The case centers around the will of Grace E. Hatch, executed in 1933, which was discovered in a safe deposit box after her death in 1960. The carbon copy submitted for probate was not signed by Hatch and was a conformed copy with handwritten notations by Judge Tucker, who had drawn the original will. Despite a diligent search for the original will, it could not be located, leading to the dispute over the validity of the carbon copy.

Evidence presented in the Orphans' Court established the execution of the original will of Miss Hatch in 1933.

Issue

The main legal issue was whether the evidence presented was sufficient to establish the continued existence of the original will, thereby allowing the probate of the carbon copy.

The main legal issue was whether the evidence presented was sufficient to establish the continued existence of the original will, thereby allowing the probate of the carbon copy.

Rule

The law in Maryland presumes that if a will is traced into the possession of the testator and is later found missing or mutilated, it is presumed to have been destroyed by the testator with the intention of revocation. This presumption is rebuttable, but the burden of proof lies with the party seeking to probate the copy.

The law is settled in this State that if the will is traced into the possession and custody of the testator and is there found mutilated in any of the modes pointed out in the statute of revocation, or is not found at all, it will be presumed that the testator destroyed, or mutilated it, animo revocandi.

Analysis

The court applied the presumption of revocation to the facts of the case, noting that the original will was traced to the decedent's possession at the time of execution. The absence of the original will at her death, combined with the lack of sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption, led the court to conclude that the Orphans' Court's decision was correct. The appellant's reliance on a statement made by the decedent suggesting a possible change to her will was deemed insufficient to overcome the presumption.

We think that the evidence fails to show that the Orphans' Court was in error in concluding that proof of the continued existence of the lost will was insufficient.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the Orphans' Court, concluding that the evidence did not support the continued existence of the original will, and thus the carbon copy could not be probated.

We see no basis for disturbing the above findings of fact, and we think that the Orphans' Court correctly stated the law applicable thereto.

Who won?

The appellees prevailed in the case as the court upheld the Orphans' Court's decision to deny probate of the carbon copy, citing the lack of evidence to support the existence of the original will.

The Court finds that the possession of the original will having been traced to the decedent at the time of execution has raised the presumption that it has subsequently destroyed by her with the intention of revocation.

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