On Monday 24 August, Senior Associate, Katie Hancock from our Private Client team visited The Good Company People HQ in Crowborough to give a presentation about Wills and how they might be challenged.
Service users listened to a very useful presentation from Katie – who was introduced by Lucy Buck, CEO of The Good Company People – in which she outlined how to write your Will so that it represents your personal wishes and to do that in a way that it has less chance of potentially being challenged in the future.
Katie began by outlining ‘testamentary freedom’ which exists in England and Wales – the principle that every individual is entitled to dispose of their estate as they see fit. In contrast, Scottish law means that a spouse and children are automatically entitled to a share of the estate; while, in France, you cannot disinherit your children.
If somebody does want to challenge a Will, Katie explained the ways this can happen, such as statute (where there is judged to be a failure to make reasonable financial provision for a defined class of people – such as a spouse or child). She added that other ways to challenge a Will include a lack of mental capacity; a lack of knowledge and approval (a particular issue with homemade Wills); and undue influence.
She talked through different scenarios where this might happen – sharing some examples from her own experiences as a solicitor and outlining some well-known cases.
Katie explained that, in her role, she sometimes needs to have some awkward and quite personal conversations with clients, before looking at the risks and weighing them up. Katie said she will:
- Meet with clients in person wherever possible.
- Take detailed notes of all meetings and conversations with the clients.
- Identify any potential contentious issues and act accordingly.
She then explained the further steps she’d take if a Will looked less straightforward with, perhaps a child being excluded or one partner showing signs of memory loss etc. If a client wanted to make a provision in their Will that could, eventually, be challenged, she would advise clients to write a side letter in their own words, and in their own writing, setting out their reasons for making their decision, which could then be used as evidence if a claim is made.
Katie concluded by saying, always get professional advice – don’t be tempted to write your own Will! The presentation prompted a raft of questions from the room and some further interesting discussions.
If you’d like to know more, Katie Hancock can be contacted on 01892 515022 or email: kch@cooperburnett.com
