Judge upholds Will of grandfather who left £50 to five of his grandchildren

Gowing, St Marseille, Higginbotham, Ward, Pett v Ward and Wiltshire

Selina Gonzalez Associate Solicitor in our Will Dispute team reports:

Frederick Ward Senior died in 2020 at 91 years old, leaving behind his two children, Terry and Susan. The Deceased also had a third child, Fred, who had died some 5 years before his father.

When Fred Senior died, it was discovered that he had chosen not to leave anything in his Will to Fred Junior’s five daughters, his grand-daughters, other than £50 each with the remainder of his almost £500,000 Estate to pass to Terry and Susan. Fred senior had reached this decision on the basis that he was hurt after his late son had died Fred Junior’s children had stopped visiting him.

In what quickly became a legal battle, Fred Senior’s grand-daughters alleged that Terry and Susan had unduly influenced their grandfather and argued that they should between them inherit what would have been Fred Junior’s inheritance had he survived his father. Had they been successful in proving that this was the case, the court could have ordered that they were to receive a share of the Estate. 

While the judge found that the claim had been brought in “good faith”, he ultimately did not consider that the evidence supported the claim that Terry or Susan had poisoned their father’s mind against Fred Junior’s children in order to have him make a will in their favour and that Fred Senior had made an “entirely rational” decision. Therefore the claim was dismissed, demonstrating how the law of testamentary freedom applies in the UK in that a person has the freedom to leave their estate to whomever they choose and that nobody is obliged to provide for any particular family member (unlike in certain other jurisdictions).

If you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of Will Disputes please contact Selina on 01228 516666 or click here to send her an email.