WILL TORN IN HALF

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 25020, 31 October 1946, Page 5

WILL TORN IN HALF

PROBATE SOUGHT IN SUPREME COURT ESTATE VALUED AT £64,750 (P.A.) WELLINGTON, October 30. An estate with an estimated value of £64,750 was involved in a case which came before Mr Justice Fair in the Supreme Court to-day, when the Public Trustee, as plaintiff, asked for probate in solemn form concerning the will and codicil of Vilhelm Jensen, or letters of administration in the estate. It was disclosed that the will and codicil were torn in half when they were received by the plaintiff, who was appointed executor under the will, and a question before the Court was whether the will had thus been revoked. It was said in the statement of claim that the will was dated March 9, 1925. and the codicil May 8, 1929. It was said also that after Jensen’s death the will and codicil were received by the plaintiff from Jensen’s solicitor, and they were torn into two pieces. The plaintiff had no knowledge of the circumstances in which the documents were torn.

The defendants in the action were the widow, Mrs Henrietta Frances Jensen. of Wellington, and the children, Mrs Elsie Alice Downing, Mrs Irene Alma McNaughton, Mrs Ida Alexandra Eton, and William Nordane Jensen, all of Wellington. Mrs Hilda May Munn, of Dargaville, Mrs Hettie Frances Johns, of Wanganui, and Charles Ernest Jensen, of Sydney. The statements of defence for Mrs Jensen. Mrs Eton, and Mrs McNaughton submitted that the backing sheets of the will and codicil, when they were received by the plaintiff, both bore in Jensen’s handwriting the inscription: “Out of date. V. Jensen, August, 1943.’’ As a further defence, it was submitted that the documents were voluntarily revoked by Jensen by tearing them on May 6, 1946. No knowledge of the tearing of the documents was claimed by the other defendants.

It transpired, at the proceedings that Jensen had named other persons and institutions in Denmark and New Zealand as beneficiaries. The amount of £250 was mentioned for each of the grandchildren, who were not represented at the proceedings. Sums of £5OO for a children’s home in Aalborg, Denmark. £lOO for a friend in Aalborg, £lOO to be applied to the 10 poorest pupils at a school in Aalborg. £3OO for the Wellington Hospital Board for the maintenance of the children’s ward and £lOO for the Plunket nursing home, Wellington, were also mentioned.

After legal discussion, his Honour adjourned the case. He directed that the Danish Consul should be served on behalf of the charities in Denmark, the. Government of Denmark to be notified, if no charitv could be identified. authorising the Consul to accent service, and appointing the Consul. if he consented, to represent other beneficiaries named as residents of Denmark. It was directed that the charities in New Zealand and each of the grandchildren should be served. All the beneficiaries not already joined were made parties to the action, and leave was given to file a joint defence if any so desired. Leave was reserved for an application to be made in resnect of any matters arising from the orders. Tt was directed that statements of defence were to be filed bv 14 da vs after service in New Zealand, and 28 days in the case of beneficiaries in Denmark.