The Vegetarian Society v Scott [2013] EWHC 4097 (Ch)

Analysis

This was a contentious probate action against all five of the wills of a schizophrenic testator. While he had benefitted from a stable and conventional childhood, the deceased had sustained serious injuries at the age of nineteen in a serious bicycle accident. He soon after succumbed to the symptoms of severe schizophrenia and logical thought disorder, from which he suffered for the remainder of his lifetime. His modes of living were unconventional. He lived alone on the fringes of society, and despite his considerable wealth, he lived in basic, if not squalid conditions. While it was accepted by both parties that his mental condition was severe, he was able to conduct professional dealings with solicitors and accountants until the end of his life, both in his capacity as a landlord of several residential flats, but also in drawing up the five professionally drafted wills he executed in his lifetime.

The claimants were residuary beneficiaries of his final will and they stood to inherit the bulk of the deceased’s substantial estate. The defendant, who was the younger sister of the deceased, sought to overturn all five of his wills on the basis that he was lacking testamentary capacity when he made and executed them. She had no entitlement under any of those wills, but was his heir under intestacy.

The substance of the defendant’s claim was that the deceased’s mental condition was so severe as to overbear his mind, and vitiate his testamentary capacity at all times. The fact that the deceased, who was not a vegetarian in his lifetime, had left the bulk of his estate to two vegetarian charities was evidence of his irrational conduct, and was indicative of the adverse effect his mental disorder had inflicted upon the will making process. His personal writings, contained in a notebook which had accompanied the deceased for most of his lifetime, also showed the extent of his logical thought disorder, which she submitted, was constantly pervasive of his mental functioning. In addition, at the time the deceased made his final three wills, the deceased’s mind had been poisoned by insane delusions about her which led him to exclude her from his estate.

The claimants contended that whilst his condition was undoubtedly severe, the deceased was able to gather his thoughts towards the making of his wills, and he therefore had full capacity when he prepared and executed them. His ability to conduct his affairs in a logical and rational fashion were evidenced in is correspondence with the various professionals he instructed over his lifetime, much of it contemporaneous with the drawing up of his wills. The claimants further submitted that the deceased was never close to the defendant in his lifetime, hence his decision to leave his estate elsewhere.

Held:

1. 1) The expert evidence supported a finding that the deceased suffered from severe schizophrenia and logical thought disorder;
2. 2) The burden of proof shifted onto those seeking to propound the wills;
3. 3) However, the testator was capable of gathering his thoughts towards ‘goal-directed’ activity, such as carrying out his property transactions, instructing professionals, and making wills;
4. 4) He therefore had full testamentary capacity when he drew up all five of his wills;
5. 5) His decision to exclude the defendant from any entitlement to his estate was the result of their distant relationship;
6. 6) His final will was valid and was to be admitted to probate in solemn form of law.