The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-08-05
FORTY YEARS
AFTER DEATH
PETITION TO BREAK THE WILL
OF +. w. HOLT WAS
FILED TODAY.
CHARGES MADE
BY HIS SONS.
w A. Aldrich Charged With Fraud
Holt Alleged Tc Have Been of I'm
sound Mind When Signed VIII.

Holt Alleged To Have Been of I'm
sound Mind When Signed VIII.
A petition was filed in the Circuit
C, urt today to set aside an order admit
t'nS a will to probate in 1862 and TO
GecIare the Will long used as a valid
document in The distribution of prop
cry, to have been void, on the ground
thdt the alleged executor of the docu-
ment, Robert William Holt, who died on
July q, 1862 was of unsound mind at the
time that the will was alleged to have
been made, and was imposed upon by
an attorney of Honolulu and his own
son-in-law and induced to sign a docu-
ment. different from that which lie
thought he was signing.
Three sons of the deceased, James r.
Holt, John ID. Holt and owen j. Holt.
are surviving today and they are the
| petitioners, with John d. Holt Jr
and John f. Colburn. The action in
wolves some very valuable real estate
and personal property which passed TO
/ the heirs of William A. Aldrich. the
son-in-law of the Robert William Holt.
The will which is attacked forty years
after it was filed for probate, was pre-
sented to the Supreme court of the
Kingdom of Hawaii in July. 1862. 1t
had codicil purporting to have been
made in the previous May The will
Isiticn and William A. Aldrich was made
executor as it provided. Elizabeth NJ.
| Aldrich, wife of the executor, subst-
/ quently withdrew from the estate all
! her share to which she was entitled un-
der the terms of the will and the laws
of descent of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The petitioners expect to prove by the
! records of the Supreme Court that on
I the day after the execution of the al
legged WILL May 30, 1862, James w. Aus
tin presented to the court a petition set
ting forth that by age and other in
| firmities, Robert William Holt was un-
able to attend to his business and to-
| tally incapable of looking after his af-
fairs. The Supreme court adjudged him
an incompetent and placed him under
| the guardianship of his sOn-in-law,
| William A. Aldrich and the guardian
ship ~iasted until the death of Holt
few months later The petition says:
And your petitioners allege that they
! believe that no will or testament of said
] Robert William Holt was ever executed
other than the said alleged will of May
29-9H, 1862; and your petitioners believe
and upon such belief they alluge that
| the said Robert William Holt died In
testate at Honolulu, in said Kingdom"
! For a long time prior to the date of
| the alleged execution of the will it is
stated, Holt was of utterly unsound
mind AS a result of old age and dissi-
! *,
say the petitioners, and quite incompe-
tent to make a will or to understand
| the terms of any written document.
Since the death of Aldrich there have
| been as executors of the will and trust
created Hereunder James w. Austin,
Henry Thompson, A. Francis Judd, A
| ]. Cartwright and Bruce Cartwright
Recently the latter was succeeded by
Henry Smith, the present executor The
petitioners ask that the orders of the
courts appointing all these executors
be severally revoked, annulled and
cancelled"
The real property which is claimed
consists Of two tracts of land to which
Aldrich processing to act under the
authority of said alleged last will and
/ testament and the orders of the Su-
preme Court, obtained and acquired til
| tie" The land consists of the Ahupuaa
of Makaha, in the district of Waianae,
and the Ahupuaas of Halemano and
Wahiawa, Waialua, all now held by
Henry Smith as trustee of the Holt es-
tate. The land is valued at $4,000, and
other personal property held in the
same estate by Smith is said to be
worth $4,000.
The petition charges fraud on the
Fart of well known old residents of Ho-
nolulu, as follows;
charge and allege that the said docu-
ment and documents as aforesaid pre-
sented to and admitted to probate by
the said Supreme Court, as and for the
last will and testament of the said
Robert w. Holt, and a codicil thereto |
were not at the time when the same |
was or were signed by the said Holt, |
nor when so presented or admitted to !
probate, and are not now and never |
1, -, InV In, 60. 81,
last will and testament or any will or |
testament of said Robert William Holt, |
but that the same We're and are |
now false and fabricated instruments |
which were imposed upon said Robert |
William Holt by designing persons, |
while he was in a condition of mental |
incapacity to make or understand a |
will, and when and while such condi-
tion of mental incapacity was we'll !
known to said designing persons to |
wit: James w. Austin, an attorney, |
then living and practicing in said HO-
nOlulu and by whom said will was
drawn, and said William A. Aldrich,
then the son-in-law of said Robert |
William Holt and other persons whose |
identity is not certainly known to your
petitioners"
The petitioners ask that the order of |
the Supreme Court of July 26, 1862, be |
set aside and that the will be declared |
null and void that all the orders APP
pointing executors and trustees be set |
aside; that Robert William Holt be de-
clared to have died intestate, and that !
an administrator of his estate be now
appointed
Attorney Carlos A. Long is proposed
by the petitioners as a proper person
to be made administrators of the estate,
and it is asked that the usual orders
be made for proceeding to publish no.
tees and that the heirs of Robert Will
liam Holt excepting Elizabeth NJ Aid
rich and her heirs, may be cited to APP
pear and show cause, Il any they have,
why the petition should not be granted.
c, w. Ashford, c. A. Long and r. II
Hart are attorneys for the petitioners.