In re the Estate of Rounds

John M. Keane, S.

Cunning is the fictional hallmark of the individual who inveigles an elderly person alone in the world to execute a will naming him the sole' beneficiary. In this real world, however, facts frequently do not fit into the neat pattern created by a skilled author. So it is here.

In late June, 1964 (the exact day is in dispute), Jesse C. Rounds was an 88-year-old widower living alone, his only child, a daughter, then being dead some two years. On that day, one William T. Seeley, the sole beneficiary under the instrument being offered for probate herein, had arranged for two men…