Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2017 #166The claimant was a friend and business colleague of Philip Hopkins, and the executor and main beneficiary under Mr Hopkins’ will dated 6 June 2014. The will draftsman, a partner in a law firm, attended Mr Hopkins at his home with two members of the firm’s staff who witnessed his signature. During the execution of the will, she noticed that Mr Hopkins was unwell and later that day he was readmitted into hospital. He died ten days later on 19 August 2014, having been diagnosed with unspecified alcoholic liver damage.
The claimant brought a claim to prove the validity of the 2014 wil...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | November 2016 #164This 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 ...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | October 2016 #163Kenneth 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...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | June 2016 #160On 21 May 2010 the deceased died, aged 89, leaving two sons: the appellant and the respondent. The respondent claimed pronouncement in solemn form of an alleged will of the deceased dated 26 July 2005, which divided the deceased’s estate equally between the appellant and the respondent. The appellant challenged the validity of the 2005 will on the basis that the deceased lacked testamentary capacity at the date of its purported execution and on the basis that the deceased did not know and approve of the contents of the same.
In September 2003 social services began to assist with t...
McCabe v McCabe [2015] reaffirms the legal test for testamentary capacity in Banks v Goodfellow [1875]. Simrun Garcha reports ‘The court must consider all the relevant evidence and draw inferences from the material in reaching its decision as to whether the propounder of the will has proved the testator knew and approved its contents.’ The …
Continue reading "Testamentary Capacity: Facing the facts"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | April 2015 #148Elizabeth Jane Walker (Mrs Walker) was born on 25 March 1956. She married John Walker in 1981, and with him she had two daughters, Jennifer and Alison. In 2007, she left her husband and began to live with Michael Badmin (Mr Badmin).
On 20 June 2009, Mrs Walker was diagnosed with a terminal, malignant brain tumour. Following the prescription of medication, she began to suffer from symptoms of psychosis. However, her condition gradually improved, and she was discharged from hospital on 20 July 2009. Mrs Walker’s health begun to deteriorate in Autumn 2009. By October, she was bed-bou...
Walker v Badmin has clarified the correct test for testamentary capacity. Araba Taylor explains ‘The clarity offered by the Walker judgment is very welcome, given the conflict between earlier first instance decisions and what the judge described as the “rather ambivalent view” in the textbooks.’ It is now settled: the test for testamentary capacity in …
Continue reading "Testamentary Capacity: Banking on Banks v Goodfellow"
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Ailsa Moorhouse sets out a case that upholds a person’s right to leave their assets to whoever they choose ‘For the estimated one third to one half of the adult population in England and Wales who have made wills, the case of The Vegetarian Society is important, being, as it is, up-to-date evidence and reassurance …
Continue reading "Testamentary Capacity: Eccentricity allowed"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | July/August 2014 #141This was the trial of a probate action relating to the estate of the late Mrs Joyce Beech Catling (Mrs Catling). She was married to Arthur Joseph Catling (Mr Catling) and they had eight children. The first defendant was the youngest child. The claimants, the seven older children, seek probate in solemn form of her will dated 23 August 2004 (the 2004 will) and codicil dated 2 November 2005 (the 2005 codicil) and say that the court should pronounce against a later will dated 11 May 2007 (the 2007 will), on the ground that Mrs Catling no longer had testamentary capacity and/or did not know ...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | July/August 2014 #141The appeal dealt with the issue of whether the late Constance Simon (1) had testamentary capacity and (2) knew and approved her will she executed at or immediately after her 88th birthday party on 18 December 2005. The judge below answered the questions in the affirmative, on of Mrs Simon’s sons, Robert Simon appealed.
Mrs Simon had originally had four children, who each owned 24.99% of the shareholding in a family company. Mrs Simon owned the other 0.04% of the shares. Robert was the managing director. Her sons Hilary and Johnathan did not play a part in the business. Davi...
