The deceased died on 21 June 2010. His will, dated 6 March 1998, gave a life interest in the matrimonial home to his second wife, with remainders to the claimant and his brother, who were children of the deceased’s first marriage. A codicil, dated 26 December 2002, replaced the life interest with an absolute gift to the second wife. The deceased’s second wife obtained probate, relying on a copy of the codicil as the original could not be found, and administered the estate. The second wife made a will by which 70% of her residuary estate went to her sister, and 30% to the claimant’s three...
Continue reading "Valid execution: A will, but no way"
Mrs Maudlin Bascoe (T) died on 29 August 2015. Cs sought to prove a will dated 27 April 2005 (the 2005 will) naming them as executors. C1 was T’s son. C2 was T’s former solicitor and the draftsman of her wills from 1988 2005. D was T’s daughter. T also had two other children – a son, G, (who pre-deceased her) and a daughter, B (who died after T in 2017).
Under the 2005 will, D received a legacy of £100. There was an earlier will dated 25 October 1992 (the 1992 will) leaving D a legacy of £10,000 the validity of which D did not dispute at trial.
D challenged the 2005 will, a...
Continue reading "Wills: A risky business"
The claimant sought an order pronouncing against the will of his late father Gerald Wilson (the ‘deceased’) dated 9 October 2010, and revoking the grant of probate obtained by the defendant, as executor and sole beneficiary. The claimant contended that the will was not validly executed in compliance with s9 of the Wills Act 1837 (the ‘1837 Act’).
The will had been written, in manuscript by the deceased on a will form and was purportedly attested by two witnesses, Mr Byrne and Mr McKinley. It contained a proper attestation clause. It was not disputed that...
This was a challenge to the formal and substantial validity of the last will of David Poole (the testator) dated 26 December 2012 (the December will) on the grounds of want of due execution, want of knowledge and approval, lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence.
The testator (who died on 19 March 2013) had suffered severe physical and psychiatric injuries following a motorcycle accident in 1985. The December will had been prepared by Mr Everall, the first respondent, who had been the testator’s paid carer/’supporting landlord’ since 1994. The December ...
Kenneth William Jordan (Mr Jordan) died on 4 August 2012 leaving a wife (from whom he was estranged) and two adult children. The claimant was Mr Jordan’s partner during the last years of his life and the first defendant was his daughter from a relationship that predated his marriage. He had previously made a will giving pecuniary legacies to the first defendant and two of his sisters with the residuary estate passing to the claimant. Subsequently, in January 2012, Mr Jordan gave instructions to Mr Mumford (who was his brother-in-law), a solicitor with the firm Melia Mumford, to make a ne...
The claimant was the daughter of Mr Gurwak Singh (the deceased), who died on 23 March 2009. The first defendant was the deceased’s son and had obtained a grant of probate of what he claimed was the deceased’s last will, which was dated 3 May 1999.
The claimant brought an action seeking an order for revocation of the grant of probate, pronouncing against the purported will and for the appointment of an independent person to administer the estate. The action was brought on the basis that the purported will had not been properly executed pursuant to s9(c) of the Wills Act...