Caveatable interest in probate proceedings may be tested preliminarily, without finally deciding rival succession claims.

A caveat in probate proceedings may be maintained by a person with a caveatable interest, and the probate court may first test that interest as a preliminary issue. That inquiry is limited to whether the caveator has an interest in the estate that could be prejudiced by grant of probate; it does not extend to finally resolving disputed matters such as the validity of a rival Will or the caveator's ultimate legal status. The probate court remains concerned with due execution and attestation of the Will, not final succession rights. On the materials, both caveators had a prima facie basis to oppose probate, so the refusal to discharge the caveats was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the caveators had a caveatable interest sufficient to maintain their caveats in probate proceedings, and whether the probate court could, at the preliminary stage, refuse discharge of the caveats on the basis of prima facie materials.

Analysis: Under Rule 24, a person intending to oppose probate may file a caveat, and under Rules 28 and 30 the court may first try the caveator's interest as a preliminary issue before the matter is numbered as a suit. The preliminary inquiry is confined to whether the caveator has an interest in the estate that may be prejudiced by the grant of probate; it does not extend to conclusively deciding disputed questions such as the validity of the alleged later Will or the exact legal status of the caveator. The probate court is concerned with due execution and attestation of the Will, and not with finally determining rival claims to succession or bequest. On the materials placed, both caveators had at least a prima facie basis to contest the probate claim, one on the footing of an earlier Will and the other on a claimed spousal relationship, and the High Court was justified in declining to discharge the caveats.

Conclusion: The caveats were rightly allowed to stand, and the challenge to the refusal to discharge them failed.

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