Volume 181 — Virginia Reports

1. WILLS — <italic>Revocation — Presumption of Destruction.</italic> — Where a will, known to have been executed and the contents of which are proven, is last traced to the possession of the testator, and is not found upon search at his death, it is presumed to have been destroyed by him with the purpose of revoking it. 2. WILLS — <italic>Revocation — Evidence Necessary to Overcome Presumption.</italic> — The evidence to overcome the presumption of the revocation of a will must be strong and conclusive. 3. WILLS — <italic>Revocation — Sufficiency of Evidence to Show Will Not</italic> <italic>Destroyed with Intent to Revoke — Case at Bar.</italic> — The instant case was a suit to establish a will in which it was contended that the testatrix had died, without having revoked the will, but that the instrument had been lost or misplaced. A lawyer testified that pursuant to a request of the testatrix he drew a will leaving her property to the complainant and that the will was properly executed. There was evidence of the testatrix's deep affection for the complainant, who was her adopted granddaughter; repeated declarations of the testatrix of her intention to leave all of her property to this granddaughter; repeated declarations of the testatrix that such a will had been written, was in existence, and was still in her possession; the entire lack of evidence of any cause or reason for the testatrix to have made a change in this testamentary disposition; and conclusive proof of the lack of affection of the testatrix for her next of kin, the appellants, or any of them. <italic>Held:</italic> That the evidence was amply sufficient to support the conclusion that the testatrix did not destroy her will with the intent to revoke it, but that on the contrary it was legally in existence at the time of her death and should be established.