Re: edward Dale's will & its anomaly

You're not going to produce a will that was over-turned after being
admitted to probate because you can't find one. The concept you're
citing doesn't exist in VA. the time to challenge a will was when it
was presented to be proved in court. If the court accepted the will
as proved, it could no longer be challenged. That's reality.

The law was amended in 1661/2 so that the search for executors of
wills could be expanded. They didn't want wills to fail because they
couldn't find an executor. That's it.

You don't seem to grasp the truth here--the reason the law was made
(if you want to put it that way) was to protect orphans, and it
applied to ALL wills. In the Lancaster Co. case, Elizabeth Spencer DID
challenge the will but the court told her her "pre-nup" was worthless,
that the will had been proved according to law, and could not be
challenged. Get it?

You don't really know the background of the case. Elizabeth Spencer
had been married to Thomas Wilke. When she married George Spencer,
she alleged he had made some promises regarding property she felt was
hers, but she failed to get a "jointure" that would hold up in court.
Spencer reneged on those promises, and that was the genesis of those
lawsuits.On 10 Jun 1691, probate was granted on Spencer's will. The
time to challenge ANY will was when it was being proved.

I'm not going to split hairs with you--that's one of your favorite
tactics to muddy the waters and try to make the lurkers think you're
sharp. Whether the law was "changed" or "made' 'll leave up to your
schoolboy imagination--the point is that THAT is the law the colonists
followed.

You seem to think there were two probate laws--one that said that
wills involving orphans can't be challenged (I gather you're conceding
that it couldn't be challenged after being proved), and one for
everyone else.

That's where you're wrong--you've made an unwarrranted assumption, and
the law doesn't say that. What the Assembly did was in order to
protect orphans, and see that they got their property, the VA Assembly
decided to make ALL wills "inviolable." That means every will. You'd
better read the law again. You're dead wrong on this.

Any will could be challenged during the process of proving it, but
once accepted for probate, it could no longer be challenged. The
Lancaster Co. court case fully supports that.

Instead of arguing with me, you should check this out yourself and
you'll find I'm right.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: DISCUSSION OF DALE/SKIPWITH LINE
    ... The fact that county courts had some law books doesn't mean the law ... governing wills passed in 1661/2 didn't mean what it said. ... reposed in them by the testator in which case the court may appoint ... estate by appointment of the court shalbe managed according to the ...
    (soc.genealogy.medieval)
  • Re: edward Dales will & its anomaly
    ... The Lancaster Co. court clearly said the ... The REASON the law was changed was to protect orphans. ... According to you, the two minors couldn't ... overturned after it had been admitted for probate; ...
    (soc.genealogy.medieval)
  • Re: Sir William Blackstone meets Henings Statutes (insanity & forgetfulness...
    ... Hening 2:92-93 IS THE LAW GOVERNING LAST WILLS AND ... reposed in them by the testator in which case the court may appoint ... in the course of which Colin ...
    (soc.genealogy.medieval)
  • Re: edward Dales will & its anomaly
    ... Your other comments continue to display an ignorance of the law. ... executors of wills, so that wills wouldn't fail due to lack of ... The law allowed executors of wills to perform ... Once a will was proved in court it was ...
    (soc.genealogy.medieval)
  • Re: DISCUSSION OF DALE/SKIPWITH LINE
    ... We're never going to reach a meeting point until you can understand that the probate law of Virginia as you like to call it, is based on the same common law that England had at the same time. ... Quote the portion where he discusses how wills can be set aside at the moment of proving them. ... reposed in them by the testator in which case the court may appoint ...
    (soc.genealogy.medieval)