Bonthrone v Ireland, (1883) 10 R 779

Citation:Bonthrone v Ireland, (1883) 10 R 779

Link to case on WorldLII (reference).

Rule of thumb: What happens if a will is lost or destroyed? If it is honestly lost or destroyed by the person to revoke it then it is deemed to be revoked, although if it is deemed to have been deliberately destroyed by a third party then this raises an issue for the Court to presume what was written in it.

Judgment:

This case affirmed the ‘destruction or loss of wills revocation’ principle – it affirmed that where someone destroys their will, or it becomes lost, then this will be deemed to have been revoked, ‘For as a man may effectually cancel or revoke his will by destroying it, when it is shown that a man duly executed a will and had it at one time in his custody, and it is not forthcoming at his death, the legal presumption, in the absence of evidence to the contrary is that he destroyed it animo revocandi... if the law were otherwise, a man plainly could not cancel his will by merely destroying it’, Lord Young at 790

Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.