The county commission continued the public hearing to probate a will for Elizabeth Mellon until Oct. 14 at 9:30 a.m. after the estate attorney said a potential objector lives out of state and had said by email the original will was destroyed in 2019.
Attorney Kevin Judy, representing Lloyd Elswick Jr., presented a copy of a 2018 will and told the commission he had received communications alleging the original had been burned in 2019. “I did receive evidence that there was a revocation … that his mother lit the will on fire, the original, in 2019,” Judy said. He added a witness, attorney Will Keaton, would testify that the original will existed in 2023 and that his client brought the document to Keaton’s office in 2023.
Commission members reviewed statutory requirements for service and evidence and agreed to continue the hearing to allow the potential objector, identified in the record as Sherry Schaefer, additional notice and time to appear. Commissioner David Mance said permitting another hearing would let all interested parties present evidence and make the record more complete before the commission acts.
The attorney said a continuation imposes additional legal costs on his client but that he would notify the potential objector and serve parties again. The commission set the next hearing for Oct. 14 at 9:30 a.m. and asked the attorney to file proof of service before that date.
Why it matters: the continuation preserves the commission’s ability to consider competing evidence in a probate matter where parties disagree about whether the original will was revoked.