Copley v Winter WTLR(w) 2023-08

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Web Only

Baker & anr v Hewston [2023] WTLR 815

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2023 #192

Stanley was married to Agnes and had three children: Ronald, Martin and Jennifer. He also had eight grandchildren including Jennifer’s daughter Emma and Ronald’s son Luke. Stanley separated from Agnes in the 1980s and moved in with his partner Kathleen, supported for many years by her daughter, the defendant. In 2010, Stanley and Kathleen each made wills leaving half shares in their new jointly owned home in Birmingham (the ‘Bungalow’) to Martin and the defendant. Kathleen died in April 2014 and Stanley handed the deeds to the Bungalow to the defendant in an envelope marked ‘Di, keep saf...

Boast v Ballardi & ors [2022] WTLR 1203

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2022 #189

The claimant issued probate proceedings seeking orders pronouncing against the validity of a will dated 11 June 2013 and in favour of an earlier will dated 15 March 2006. The claimant was the sole executor under both wills, and the sole beneficiary of the earlier will. The later will gave rise to a partial intestacy of residue, under which the defendants were the beneficiaries.

The claimant issued probate proceedings challenging the 2013 will for lack of testamentary capacity. Four defendants had consented pre-action and one had acknowledged service, not contesting the claim. No o...

Wilson & anr v Spence & anr WTLR(w) 2022-09

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Web Only

Hughes v Pritchard & ors [2022] WTLR 993

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2022 #188

The testator owned substantial real estate, including two plots of farmland and a cottage. He had three children. His son Elfed began working on the farmland from a young age and in 1999 acquired neighbouring farmland which he farmed together with the testator’s land. In due course Elfed brought his own son to work with him on the farm.

The testator had made his testamentary intentions clear for some time, namely that his son Gareth and daughter Carys (the appellant and first respondent respectively) should inherit shares in a family company and Elfed should inherit the farmland k...

Testamentary capacity: Stick to the rules

Pauline Lyons discusses a case that outlines the importance of following procedure when will drafting When scrutinised and tested by the court in the course of Gavin Boast’s validity claim, the evidence showed that the will could not be upheld within the realms of the Banks v Goodfellow test and was accordingly set aside. The …
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Morris v Fuirer & ors [2022] WTLR 659

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2022 #187

The claimant, who was the only child of Cynthia Morris (the testatrix), was the principal beneficiary under her will dated 25 October 2000 but not under later wills made on 28 November 2006 and 14 July 2010 (the wills). The testatrix died on 7 August 2017. Under the terms of her last will, the second and third defendants were appointed as executors; pecuniary legacies were bequeathed to the claimant (£35,000), the first defendant (£70,000) and the fourth defendant (£10,000); and her residuary estate was gifted to the sixth to ninth defendants who were charities. The claimant first intima...

Skillett v Skillett [2022] WTLR 679

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2022 #187

Charles Skillett (Mr Skillett) and his wife had four children. Mr Skillett owned a smallholding and, on 7 December 2010, received a market appraisal valuing the smallholding at £50,000. On 19 May 2011, Mr Skillett and his wife made mirror wills which provided, in summary, on the death of the first spouse, for the surviving spouse to take everything absolutely, and on the death of the surviving spouse, for the smallholding to be given to their eldest son, the other three children to receive £50,000 and the residuary estate to be split equally among all four children. Mrs Skillett passed a...

St Clair v King & anr [2022] WTLR 703

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2022 #187

The defendants were the executors of the deceased’s last will dated 20 May 2009 (the 2009 will). The claimant, who was the stepdaughter of the deceased, challenged the 2009 will. There were seven issues at trial:

  1. (i) whether 2007 wills made by the deceased and her husband (the claimant’s father) were mutual wills such that if the 2009 will was admitted to probate, the estate needed to be administered to give effect to a constructive trust reflecting the terms of the 2007 will;
  2. (ii) whether there was a contract between the claimant and the deceased before the 2009 wi...

Lonsdale v Teasdale & ors [2021] WTLR 1309

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2021 #185

The claimant was the daughter of the deceased. The deceased had made a will dated 15 September 2017 of which the residuary beneficiary was D1, a friend of the deceased. A letter of intent stated that the claimant was not to benefit. The claimant, relying on medical evidence which included a poor score in a cognitive impairment screening test and a letter from the deceased’s GP opining that the deceased had likely suffered from dementia for a number of years before executing the 2017 will, challenged the 2017 will on the basis of a lack of testamentary capacity due to memory issues, and D...