DISPUTE OVER WILL

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12485, 29 June 1926, Page 8

DISPUTE OVER WILL

PUBLIC TRUSTEE SEEKS PROBATE DEFENDED BY NEXT-OF-KIN - £38,483 INVOLVED !;* The contention that the testator of a will involving bequests totalling £38j483, was not of testimentary capacity at the time the will was executed (following a dangerous operation) was raised in a case heard before His Honour Mr Justice MacGregor yesterdav. The parties concerned were the Public Trustee of New Zealand, plaintiff. and the defendants were Andrew Dodds Gray, farmer, of Plimmerton; William Gray, farmer, of Omata; C. Gray, farmer, of Pukekura; Christina Gray, of Plimmerton; Myrtle ' Bollie, married woman, of Wellington; Sidney Jones, farmer, of Whakatane; Allan Mitchell, farmer, of Levin; Kenneth Mitchell, farmer, of Shannon; Gordon Mitchell, farmer, of Shannon; Hector Mitchell, of Kenya Colony, British East Africa; and Ivan Jones, bank clerk, of Lower Hutt. PROBATE REQUESTED. The plaintiff, the executor of the will of James Gray, of Plimmerton, who died on August 21st, 1925, asked that the court should declare probate of the will, which was drawn up by the Public Trustee on

August 19th, 1925. So far as was known to the plaintiff, all the defendants were next-of-km to the testator. The bequests in the will were £2OGD to Christina Gray, £ISOO to Arthur Sims, £SOO to the Salvation Army, Wellington, £SOO to the Hutt County Council for building a tennis, bowling, and croquet court at Plimmerton, and the remainder was to be divided into three shares, one bequeathed to the Presbyterian Orphanage, Wellington, one to tW Anglican Boys’ Home, Lower Hutt, and one to the Home for the Aged Needy, Wellington. “DID NOT KNOW OF CONTENTS” The defence alleged that the will was not executed in accordance with statute, but that at the time the will was purported to be executed the deceased was not of sound mind, memory, or understanding, and did not know of the contents of the will nor approve of them. Sir John Findlay and Mr H. E. Evans represented the plaintiff, and Mr A. W. Blair appeared for the defendants. Sir John Findlay said that the deceased was 63 years of age, hale and hearty, and was suddenly taken ill at Plimmerton on August 18th, 1925. His business acumen was shown by the accumulation of a fortune of £38,483. As he appeared in a critical condition the deceased’s sister was asked Jto take a note of his testamentary wishes. That night the deceased was taken to a hospital in Wellington, where he was found to be suffering from appendicitis and peritonitis. Tbe will was made by the Public Trustee in accordance with the sister’s note, with the exception of two alterations, which;' she said were due to errors in taking the note. The officer of the Public Trust who made the will specifically asked the testator at the hospital, when he signed the will, twelve hours after an operation, regarding these alterations in the sister’s note, and the testator emphatically endorsed the alterations. There was no doubt in the officer’s mind that the testator was of thoroughly sound mind, or he would have had his doubts corroborated by others, but the testator had each clause in the will read to him, and agreed to it, and then the whole will was read again in case Ke wished to add to it, or alter it, and the deceased then signed it. Medical evidence in regard to the deceased testator’s condition at the time of the execution of the will was submitted at great length throughout yesterday, and the opinions expressed were in conflict. Drs. Anson, Giesen and Elliott gave evidence on behalf of the plaintiff, while Sir Donald McGavin, Dr. Wright, of Johnsonville, Dr. Hardwick Smith and Dr. Fenwick tendered medical evidence in support of the defendants’ contentions. The proceedings were adjourned at 5 p.m. yesterday until 10.30 a.m. this morning.