Presumption That Will Was Lost Overcome.

The decedent's surviving spouse found a copy of the decedent's will on his desk among his papers.  The original could not be found and the attorney that drafted the will had died several years earlier.  Two nephews of the decedent petitioner the court for formal probate of the copy of the will and the surviving spouse petitioned the court for an informal intestate probate.  The trial court held that the nephews had overcome the presumption that the original was revoked.  Both of the nephews had a close relationship with the decedent and helped him with farming and farmland was left to them under the terms of the will.  The surviving spouse did not know about the existence of the will.  On appeal, the court affirmed.  Estate of Deutsch, 2015 S.D. LEXIS 81 (S.D. Sup. Ct. Jun. 17, 2015).