People are always being reminded to prepare a will and, as a result, many decide to save money and make a 'homemade' will. They buy a kit online or from a stationers – how hard can it be, after all?
Well, difficult, as it turns out. There is a lot that can go wrong with preparing a will – it has to be signed and witnessed properly for a start. All assets must be included and the drafting can be complex. The courts are also strict when they are asked to interpret a will because, by definition, the person who made it is no longer around to ask what they meant to say.
A recent case is a salient reminder of why it is a good idea to get professional advice when making a will. In the case, a man made a will in 2000 leaving his entire estate to his wife; the man died in 2008 aged 92. The man made his will with a firm of solicitors who also witnessed his will.
The man's son alleged that the 2000 will was a forgery, claiming that the will was not signed. If the will was held to be a forgery, the man's earlier will, dated 1994, would be valid and the son would get one third of the man's estate. The judge in the case said: 'The key factual issue is whether the 2000 will was made by the deceased, and in particular, whether the signature on it was made by him.'
Interestingly, the solicitor's file relating to the making of the 2000 will had been (properly) destroyed by the law firm, so the only evidence that the will had been properly signed was the statement by the solicitor herself who met the man more than once, drafted his will and witnessed his will. The solicitor recalled the man and said that he was 'quite a character'. He was well known in his locality and was a longstanding client of the solicitor's firm that prepared his will.
The solicitor recalled his instructions as being 'clear and consistent'; and the judge was therefore prepared to hold that the 2000 will was valid and the son's claim failed.
So, this case is a salient reminder that having a will prepared by a firm of solicitors can be crucial if the will is subsequently challenged in at timeframe where files have been long since destroyed.
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