Solicitor prepared will ruled invalid
The England and Wales Court of Appeal has refused to validate a Will involving a lady, Daphne Burgess, removing her son as a beneficiary under her will, even though the Will was apparently drafted and executed by an independent and experienced solicitor who had explained the contents to Mrs Burgess.
The deceased made a Will in 1996, when aged 68, splitting her estate equally between her three children, Julia (a former magistrate), Peter, and Libby. In December 2006, Julia arranged a meeting with a solicitor resulting in the drafting of a different Will leaving the estate to the 2 daughters only.
Peter and Libby were completely unaware of this until after their mother’s death in May 2009. They decided to contest the Will. The Court of Appeal found in their favour, ruling that their mother had lacked ‘knowledge and approval’ of the Will’s contents and Julia had been the controlling force behind the changes.
Hollow victory?
Although Peter and Libby were victorious, the entire £200,000 estate has been consumed by legal costs. Peter said, ‘This was never about money. I simply could not let the assertion stand that my mother, to whom I was very close, would cut me out of her will, and certainly not without talking to me.’
What does this mean?
This case demonstrates the fact that a Will may not end up being legally binding as, while under English law individuals are free to leave their assets to whoever they wish, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 exists and allows certain people (including a spouse, former spouse, child, child of the family or dependant of that person) to bring a claim for reasonable financial provision if they feel it is justified.