Scott v. Thrall

Citations

• 77 Kan. 688
• 95 P. 563
• 1908 Kan. LEXIS 323

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Wills — Contest—Prima Facie Proof of Execution. In a suit to contest a will the probate thereof is prima facie evidence of •the due attestation, execution and validity of the will.</p> <p>2. -Explanation of Alteration — Burden of Proof. In such a suit the burden of proof to explain an erasure in a will is not upon the defendant in the first instance, but is upon the plaintiff to overcome the evidence afforded by such probate and to show the invalidity of the will by a preponderance of all the evidence.</p> <p>3. - Time Alteration Was Made .a Question of Fact. Whether an erasure appearing upon a will duly admitted to probate was made before or after execution is' a question of fact, to be determined by the court or jury trying the issue upon all the evidence, including the probate, aided by all reasonable presumptions and inferences.</p> <p>4. - Opinion Testimony — Handwriting—Alteration. It is not error to refuse to permit an expert in handwriting to testify, from an examination of a will and an erasure therein, that a person who wrote with a nervous hand was unable to make such an erasure, although the witness might properly testify that the hand of the person who wrote the will was nervous and unsteady.</p>