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289 Ga. 28

S10A1654. TUDOR v. BRADFORD.

CARLEY, Presiding Justice.

On January 22, 2008, Donna Bradford petitioned the probate court of Lincoln County to probate in solemn form a will purported to be the last will and testament of her mother, Roselyn Waller Jones. On February 14, 2008, Ms. Bradford's sister, Sharon Tudor, filed a pro se caveat, later amended, that primarily alleged undue influence and lack of testamentary capacity. After a hearing, the probate court granted the petition to probate the will in solemn form and ordered the will to be admitted to record. Ms. Tudor appealed that order to the superior court, which held a jury trial on October 13, 2009. At the beginning of trial, Ms. Tudor notified the trial judge that Ms. Bradford had filed only a copy of the will with the probate court although she was petitioning the court to probate the will in solemn form. Ms. Bradford admitted to the superior court that only a copy had been filed. Ms. Tudor then requested that the entire matter be returned to the probate court so that the proper burdens of proof and statutory presumption may be satisfied. However, the superior court determined that since Ms. Tudor did not raise this issue in her caveat filed in the probate court, it could not be

raised for the first time in superior court. Thus, the superior court denied the transfer and also refused admission of any evidence relating to the fact that a copy of the will had been offered for probate and to the presumption of intent to revoke that arises therefrom. See OCGA

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