In re Will of Dunn

In In re Will of Dunn, 129 N.C. App. 321, 326, 500 S.E.2d 99, 102 (1998), the propounders presented scripts dated 20 September 1994 and 26 October 1994 to the clerk of superior court for probate as the last will and first codicil thereto of the deceased. A caveat was filed alleging the will and codicil were invalid because the deceased lacked testamentary capacity at the time the writings were executed, and because the writings were obtained through undue influence. The caveator also proffered a previous script dated 29 August 1994 as the deceased's last will and testament. Although questions regarding the validity of the September and October scripts were submitted to the jury, and the jury found that the two scripts had been obtained by undue influence, the validity of the August writing was not submitted to the jury. On appeal, this Court remanded to the trial court for further jury proceedings to determine whether the August writing was the last will of the deceased. The Court explained that "in a case such as this one, where there are presented multiple scripts purporting to be decedent's last will and testament, the issue of devisavit vel non should be resolved in a single caveat proceeding in which the jury may be required to answer numerous sub-issues in order to determine the ultimate issue." Id. at 326, 500 S.E.2d at 102.