In re the Contested Will of Dwyer

Varnum, S.

This case was tried before my predecessor, Mr. Surrogate Arnold, and submitted to him in 1897, but, not having been decided by him, comes to me for decision. The paper propounded as decedent’s last will was bitterly contested upon the grounds of undue influence and lack of testamentary capacity, and also upon the claim that one or more alterations had been made in the instrument after its formal execution by her. The gravity of these contentions, especially the latter, has necessitated a most careful and laborious examination of the voluminous testimony — more than 1,200 typewritten…