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The High Court has ruled that a will made by a man who was suffering from delusions caused by late-onset schizophrenia was invalid for want of testamentary capacity. In late 2013, the man had become concerned that someone was trying to break into his home...

The law affords testators a high degree of freedom to pass on their estates to whomever they wish, and the fact that the terms of a will may seem unfair to relatives is not enough to successfully challenge it. This point was illustrated by a recent case in...

People have a great level of freedom to leave their estates as they choose and disappointed relatives must overcome a high hurdle to successfully challenge a will. Recently, the daughter of a woman who made a will leaving her entire estate to one of her sons...

The best way to minimise the risk of a successful challenge to your will is to have it drawn up by a qualified solicitor. Recently, a woman's challenge to her elderly father's final will was rejected by the High Court . The man had made the will in March...

The manager of a care home has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for forging the will of an elderly woman who lived in the home. The woman had moved into the home in 2020 after becoming ill. She was described by the judge as 'particularly...

The High Court has rejected a son's claim that he was entitled to inherit his father's farm based on promises his father had made during his lifetime. The son's claim that his father's last two wills were invalid was also rejected. The father had died in...

The High Court has upheld the validity of a codicil to a woman's will which left the family farm to her two daughters and dismissed claims by her grandsons that she had promised the farm to them. The woman had passed away in 2020 at the age of 96. A will...

A will purported to have been made by an elderly woman during lockdown has been declared invalid because she had not signed it in the presence of two or more witnesses, as required by Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 . The will was dated 25 April 2020,...

The High Court has upheld a woman's challenge to a will allegedly made by her late father, finding that the defendants had failed to establish on the balance of probabilities that it was genuine. The will had purportedly been executed in 2019, the year...

The High Court recently rejected a challenge to the will of a woman who had experienced memory issues prior to making it. The woman had made the will in 2008. She left her interest in her and her husband's house to her elder daughter. After bequests of...