Peterson v. Harrell

I cannot agree with the affirmance of the trial court’s admission of Testatrix Marion Peterson’s alleged will to probate. Even assuming that the will was duly executed in 1976, the cancellation of a material portion of the will raises the presumption, which has not been rebutted, that Testatrix intended to revoke the entire will. Although the majority purports to assume the existence of a material cancellation, it actually conflates the separate issues of what constitutes an obliteration or cancellation, what is a material portion of the will, and how the intention to revoke is determined.…