Mr. Anderson suggested to Arthur that if he wished to revoke the will that left his assets to Regina, he could accomplish this by tearing up the will. Mr. Johnson tore up the will in front of Mr. Anderson with the intention of revoking it.

Mr. Anderson then arranged for an attorney to prepare a new will for Arthur in accordance with his instructions. The will was prepared, and, in accordance with Arthur's wishes, named the church, rather than Regina, as the primary beneficiary. In November 1999, Mr. Anderson brought the new will to Arthur at a hospital where Arthur had been taken from the assisted care facility. Arthur then read and signed the will in the physical presence of Mr. Anderson, and Mr. Anderson signed the will as a notary public. Father Smith was then called into the hospital room and Arthur declared to him, in Mr. Anderson's presence, that he had signed his will and asked Father Smith to hold the original of the will in his church file.

Mr. Anderson then took the original will to a meal hall near the church where the church was holding a benefit dinner. Arthur remained at the hospital. Present at the dinner were two church members. They knew Arthur, and Mr. Anderson "vouched" for Arthur's signature. Accordingly, at Mr. Anderson's request, they signed the will as witnesses. Mr. Anderson then gave the original will, in a sealed envelope, to Father Smith. Father Smith then put the will in the church file as requested by Arthur; he did not know the contents of the will until after the death of Arthur. The witnesses saw Arthur at church some time later and Arthur thanked them for signing the will.

When Arthur died, Regina contested the new will and submitted a copy of the will Arthur had torn up. The law of the state where the will was executed required that a will be signed by the testator (Arthur) and two witnesses, each of whom had witnessed the testator sign the will or his acknowledgment of the will. A case decided under the state's law required that "a literal construction of the statute with regard to formal requisites is demanded." This is true in virtually all states. Because the will was not signed by the witnesses in Arthur's presence or later acknowledged by him to them, it appears likely that the new will be declared invalid.