[1943] EACA 82
The court held that, upon certification by the Air Ministry that the testator was officially presumed dead and after exhaustive enquiries yielded no result, probate of the will could be granted. The court followed the precedent set in the Estate of the Hon. William Alfred Morton Eden, where similar circumstances...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [1943] EACA 82
- Parties
- Applicant: Estate of Harold Raymond Shuttleworth
- Court
- East African Court of Appeal
- Jurisdiction
- Uganda
- Case Number
- Probate and Administration Cause No. 170 of 1942
- Procedural Posture
- Probate and Administration / Grant of Probate
- Outcome
- probate granted
- Judges
- Sheridan CJ
- Legal Topics
- Probate, Presumption of Death, Grant of Probate
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Estate of Harold Raymond Shuttleworth
Applicant
Procedural Posture
Probate and Administration / Grant of Probate
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether probate can be granted on the presumption of death based on official certification and exhaustive enquiries.
- 2 Whether the practice in the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of H. M. High Court of Justice in England applies to this case.
Ratio Decidendi
The court held that, upon certification by the Air Ministry that the testator was officially presumed dead and after exhaustive enquiries yielded no result, probate of the will could be granted. The court followed the precedent set in the Estate of the Hon. William Alfred Morton Eden, where similar circumstances justified the grant of probate. The practice note and circular from the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of H. M. High Court of Justice in England were considered authoritative, allowing probate to be granted without further order when death is presumed by official certification. The court found that the evidence presented satisfied the requirements for presumption of...
Court Disposition
probate granted
Orders
- Grant of Probate is made on the documents presented in this case.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
13 paragraphs
## PROBATE AND ADMINISTRATION
## BEFORE SIR JOSEPH. SHERIDAN C. I.
## In the Estate of HAROLD RAYMOND SHUTTLEWORTH, Deceased Probate and Administration Cause No. 170 of 1942
## Probate—Presumption of death—Practice note.
Held (11-2-43).—On its being certified by the Air Ministry that the testator previously reported missing had been officially presumed dead and exhaustive enquiries concerning him having been made without result the Court granted probate of his will.
Case of In the estate of the Hon. William Alfred Morton Eden, presumed deceased, 32 T. L. R. 534 followed.
ORDER.—I make a Grant of Probate on the documents put before me in this case. There is authority for my doing so in the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of H. M. High Court of Justice in England in the case of the Estate of the Hon-William Alfred Morton Eden, Presumed Deceased, XXXII T. L. R. 534. in which Horridge, J., said: "There was a circular which had been issued by the President of that Division which ran: —
When it is certified by the War Office that a soldier previously reported missing may be considered to be dead, the President has authorized a grant being made without an order, upon an oath in which it is sworn that such person died on or since the day on which he was reported missing.
Dated 15th March, 1916.
A. Musgrave, Senior Registrar.
It was as well in future that that circular should be known, so that people should be saved the expense of making these applications. In this case he would give leave to swear that the deceased died on or since March 1-2-1915".
Besides the certificate from the Air Ministry in this case to the effect that death has been officially presumed, there is other evidence showing that exhaustive enquiries have been made concerning the missing officer, but unfortunately with no results.
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