In re the Will of Kelby

D.C. Circuit

In re the Will of Kelby

2 Hay. & Haz. 149

CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

DecidedApril 15, 1854

StatusPublished

This text of 2 Hay. & Haz. 149 (In re the Will of Kelby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

In re the Will of Kelby, 2 Hay. & Haz. 149 (D.C. Cir. 1854).

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Opinion

The following is the decision of Judge Purcell:

From the 29th reign of Charles II, in force in this District and the Statute of Maryland of 1798, a nuncupative will, under no circumstances, can pass real estate; there must be not less than three witnesses where the amount of personal property exceeds $300.

Nuncupative wills are viewed with distrust in the Ecclesiastical Court, and the making of one requires to be proved by evidence more strict and stringent than that of a written one, in every particular. That is requisite in consideration of the facilities with which frauds, in setting up [150]*150nuncupative wills, are obviously attended; facilities which essentially require for their suppression the utmost vigilance on the part of the Court.

The testamentary capacity of the deceased, and the animus testandi at the time of the alleged nuncupation, must appear by the clearest and most indisputable testimony.

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The following is the decision of Judge Purcell:

From the 29th reign of Charles II, in force in this District and the Statute of Maryland of 1798, a nuncupative will, under no circumstances, can pass real estate; there must be not less than three witnesses where the amount of personal property exceeds $300.

Nuncupative wills are viewed with distrust in the Ecclesiastical Court, and the making of one requires to be proved by evidence more strict and stringent than that of a written one, in every particular. That is requisite in consideration of the facilities with which frauds, in setting up [150]*150nuncupative wills, are obviously attended; facilities which essentially require for their suppression the utmost vigilance on the part of the Court.

The testamentary capacity of the deceased, and the animus testandi at the time of the alleged nuncupation, must appear by the clearest and most indisputable testimony.

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Bluebook (online)

2 Hay. & Haz. 149, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-will-of-kelby-cadc-1854.