Children entitled to a share of father’s estate despite estrangement
June 17th 2021Two teenage brothers have been granted a share of their father’s estate even though they were estranged from him and had been excluded from his will. Rebecca Armstrong Associate Solicitor reports on this recent case. The two boys, referred to only as J and H in court, who were aged 16 and 15 respectively at the date of their father’s death in 2018. Their parents had divorced in 2012. The mother…
Can someone with Dementia make a valid will?
May 21st 2021The simple answer: Potentially. Rebecca Armstrong explains below … It is often assumed that an individual with Dementia can’t make a valid will and it is therefore one of the most common grounds for challenging the validity of a will. That is not right though. The mere existence of such a diagnosis does not mean that the person lacked the necessary mental capacity. The issue with dementia is that a…
Court corrects error in Will to reinstate deceased’s wishes
March 9th 2021A court has corrected an error in a man’s will to reinstate his original intention as to how his estate should be divided among family members. Rebecca Armstrong reports on this recent case. The issue arose because the deceased had made a will in 1998 dividing his estate into 52 parts to be given to different named beneficiaries from his wife’s family. A codicil executed in 2005 deleted two individuals…
Vulnerable woman’s Will upheld despite daughter’s challenge
February 14th 2021The High Court has upheld a vulnerable woman’s Will and rejected a claim by her daughter that she had been subjected to undue influence. Rebecca Armstrong reports on this recent case. The case involved two sisters, Teresa Ann Coles and Heather Christine Reynolds. In 2002, their mother made a Will leaving her estate to be divided equally between them. However, the relationship between the two sisters deteriorated in 2009. In 2012,…
Siblings overturn their mother’s Will after family dispute
January 30th 2021Four siblings have succeeded in overturning their mother’s Will after the court agreed that she had not fully understood its consequences when she signed it. Rebecca Armstrong comments on this recent case. The case pitted the mother’s first four children against her youngest child, the defendant. In 2004, the mother and her husband had executed mirror Wills, which meant that if the husband died first, she would leave their estate…
