In re Henderson's Will
| Decision Date | 09 December 1931 |
| Docket Number | 436. |
| Parties | In re HENDERSON'S WILL. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Appeal from Superior Court, Richmond County; MacRae, Special Judge.
In the matter of the will of John R. Henderson, in which Edith Henderson filed a caveat. From the judgment, the propounders appeal.
New trial.
Findings that instrument was last will and that testator was mentally incapacitated to make will held materially repugnant warranting new trial.
There was evidence tending to show that on March 30, 1927, John R Henderson executed a paper writing as follows:
The alleged testator left a wife and a daughter, named Edith Henderson. He also left a sister, Mrs. Mae Dennis, and a half-sister, Mrs. Lula Crowson. The deceased married in 1924 but lived with his half-sister, Lula Crowson, from 1911 to June or July, 1927, when he went to live with his wife and daughter. There was evidence tending to show that the paper writing was found among valuable papers of the deceased. The daughter, Edith Henderson, who was a minor, filed a caveat to the will alleging that the signature of J. R. Henderson testator, was obtained by Mae Dennis and Lula Crowson by means of undue influence and duress, and, further, that at the time of executing said paper writing the deceased did not have sufficient mental capacity to make a will. The alleged testator died on May 26, 1930. There was evidence tending to show that the testator had sufficient mental capacity at the time the paper writing was dated, and there was evidence to the contrary.
The court submitted the following issues:
(1) "Is the paper writing propounded, and every part thereof, the last will and testament of John R. Henderson?"
(2) "Was the execution of the said paper writing procured by improper and undue influence on the part of Mrs. Lula Crowson and Mrs. Mae Dennis?"
(3) "Did J. R. Henderson, at the time of the execution of the paper writing purporting to be his last will and testament, to-wit, on the 30th day of March, 1927, have sufficient mental capacity to execute the same?"
The court instructed the jury to answer the second issue "No," and thereupon the first issue was answered "Yes," and the third issue "No."
The propounders excepted to the issues submitted by the court, and tendered the following issues:
(1) "Did J. R. Henderson, at the time of the execution of the paper writing purporting to be his last will and testament, to-wit, on the 30th day of March, 1927, have sufficient mental capacity to execute the same?"
(2) "Is the paper writing propounded, and every part thereof, the last will and testament of J. R. Henderson?"
The court refused to submit the issues tendered by...
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