Brannock Prevails Before Supreme Court of Virginia

The Virginia Supreme Court recently upheld the validity of a last will and testament proffered for probate by the testator’s daughter represented by TimberlakeSmith’s Boyce Brannock. In Canody v. Hamblin, the Circuit Court of Nelson County rejected the challenger’s claim that the will lacked sufficient acknowledgement. On appeal, the Supreme Court agreed finding that the challenger “never came close” to establishing that the will actually was not acknowledged sufficiently to prevent fraud. In addition, the Supreme Court declined the challenger’s invitation to impose heightened requirements for submitting a will to probate finding that such requirements would “thwart the salutary simplicity found in [Virginia’s] statutory scheme.”