Section 3.16 Proceeding to Establish Lost or Destroyed Will

• Library: Estate Administration 2014 Supp

J. (§3.16) Proceeding to Establish Lost or Destroyed Will

To establish a lost will, the proponent must prove the following:

Proper execution of the will

Its contents

Its loss or destruction

That it was not revoked by the testator

Feder v. Nation of Israel, 830 S.W.2d 449 (Mo. App. E.D. 1992); Peters v. Dodd, 328 S.W.2d 603 (Mo. 1959).

It should be noted that § 474.400, RSMo 2000, provides that no will in writing or any part of it may be revoked except by a subsequent will in writing or by burning, canceling, tearing, or obliterating it. The destruction of the will may be carried out by the testator or by another if done in the presence of the testator by the testator’s consent and direction. Id. A presumption of revocation arises when there is a showing that the testator had custody of the will and that the will could not...