Re Estate Capelin, deceased

In the matter of the estate of Capelin, deceased, the Supreme Court of Victoria was tasked with deciding a contest over the validity of a will. The dispute arose between the deceased's family members who sought to contest the will and the executor who sought to have the will admitted to probate. The caveator, one of the contesting parties, sought an order that the caveat against the grant of probate cease to be in force.

The court was required to determine whether the caveator's doubts as to the validity of the will were sufficient to warrant an investigation in a contested probate suit. The caveator argued that their case was not frivolous, but rather bona fide and reasonable. The executor, on the other hand, contended that the caveator's doubts were not sufficient to warrant an investigation and that the caveat should be dismissed.

The court found that the caveator's doubts as to the validity of the will were indeed bona fide and reasonable. The court was satisfied that there was a sufficient doubt as to the validity of the will to warrant an investigation in a contested probate suit. The court held that the caveator's case was not frivolous and that their doubts were not unreasonable. Accordingly, the court dismissed the executor's application for an order that the caveat cease to be in force. The court found that the caveator's doubts were sufficient to warrant an investigation into the validity of the will.