The abbot had a number of reasons to feel outraged by the circumstances surrounding Hamon's testament. Nuncupative wills or testaments tended to be looked upon with suspicion since a dying man could be influenced by those at his bedside, or his expressed wishes disregarded and others ascribed to him. That was suspected here – or perhaps the abbot suspected collusion between a procrastinating testator and his nearest and dearest with a view to maximizing their inheritance while minimizing the share expected to be dedicated to charitable and pious uses. The complaint that Hamon's bequests amounted only to a fraction of his believed worth may possibly refer to the amount he assigned (or was claimed to have assigned) to the poor and the church, since the remainder would automatically go to his heir, with the widow being allowed a life share. The abbot blamed the chaplain for failing to ensure that Hamon was better advised in regard to his charitable obligations.

It was probably less on the grounds of the nature of the testament than those of its inadequate coverage of the testator's possessions that prompted Abbot Samson to treat Hamon's as an intestate death and to assume administration of the dead man's estate. In cases of intestacy the lord had claim to the estate, although perhaps more as trustee than owner. The abbot certainly took that view, reallocating the estate evenly among the heir, the widow, and poor relations and other poor folk – this last was the charitable share and reflects that charity begins at home. He even opted to forego the traditional but obligatory gift – frequently a horse or other animal – to the church (a payment for funeral services), although that was because of the suspicion that Hamon's wealth had been acquired through immoral means and the belief that someone who died wilfully intestate had in effect committed spiritual suicide.

The immoral means are specified in the accusation that Hamon's money was tainted because he had engaged in money-lending, a practice frowned on by the Church as unChristian. The Third Lateran Council (1179) ordered that any usurer who failed to repent – which appears to apply to Hamon – should not be given Christian burial. This may help explain the abbot's closing remark; churches or clergyman failing to obey the injunction themselves faced excommunication. Abbot Samson deported the Jewish community from Bury St. Edmunds to other towns, on the excuse that everything within the town should belong to the abbey (whereas the Jews belonged to the king), although whether this took place before or after Hamon's death cannot be said. In fact, the expulsion was more likely part of Samson's efforts to reform abbey finances, by getting rid of some of its creditors; an effort undermined by the king's justices, who ordered Jews should be allowed into town if suing for their debts in the abbot's court.