THE TIMARU WILL CASE.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10148, 22 September 1898, Page 5

THE TIMARU WILL CASE.

At the Supreme Court yesterday, the plaintiff's case was opened and concluded in the suit in probate jurisdiction in which the executors propound the draft of will of the late Mr Morrison, who died in March, 1897. The will was made in 1893 by Mr Perry, solicitor, who kept a copy, and also kept the will until August, 1894, when the testator sent for it and thereafter kept it in a safe in the house. The testator was a confirmed invalid, and his wife and two step-daughters had access to the safe. The plaintiff's case was directed to 'show the improbability of the testator having himself destroyed the will, or instructed it to be destroyed, as it made some provision for all the relatives, of whom he always spoke in terms of kindness and regard. The widow had a settlement of a life interest in £1200, with the remainder to her two daughters and son, and was also mentioned in the will. A number of witnesses were called to prove that the testator's feeling towards his relatives did not vary before his death. When the will was searched for after the funeral, it could not be found. Mr Bell (Wellington) for the plaintiff, in opening the case, said he did not propose to suggest that any particular person stole, the will. It would be sufficient to prove the improbability that the testator himself destroyed it, leaving the question of crime untouched. The net value of the estate was stated to be about £11,000. Sir Robert Stout, for the defendant (the widow), opens the defence in the morning.