Validity of wills

Capacity
1. Must be 18
2. Banks V Goodfellow
  1. Nature of the act, Extent of property, Claims to which they ought to give effect
3. Mental Capacity Act 2005; presumption of capacity.
4. Parker V Felgate
  1. Does understanding have to exist during execution?
    1. Capacity existed when giving instructions, The will was made to those instructions, The testator understood that he was signing a will
5. Burden is who challanges the will.
Intention
1. Testator must know and approve the contents of the will.
  1. IF THEY HAD CAPACITY, REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT THEY HAD KNOWLEDGE AND APPROVAL
    1. UNLESS THE TESTATOR WAS BLIND, ILLITERATE, SOMEONE ELSE SIGNED THE WILL FOR THEM, SUSPICIOUS CIRUCMSTNACES
Formalities
1. IN WRITING, SIGNED AND WITH INTENT.
  1. SIGNATURE WITNESSED BY TWO AT THE SAME TIME
    1. THEY MUST BOTH SIGN THE WILL
      1. IN THE PRESENCE OF THE TESTATOR BUT NOT EACH OTHER
        THEY CAN ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR SIGNATURE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE TESTATOR IF THEY COULD NOT SIGN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE TESTATOR.
2. ATTESTATION CLAUSE; THE WILL HAS BEEN EXECUTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH S.9
  1. S.15; A BENEFICIARY WOULD LOOSE THE BENEFIT IF THEIR SPOUSE OF THEY WITNESSED THE WILL
    1. ATTESTATION IS VALIDATION OF THE SIGNATURE. WITNESS DOES NOT NEED TO SIGN IN EACH OTHERS PRSENCE YET HAVE TO BE WITH TESTATOR IF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IS MADE
MAY BE;TYPED, WRITING, INK
1. IF BOTH, DELIBERATIVE ONLY
2. SIGNATURE IS IDEAL BUT ANY MARK WILL DO

Resource summary

	Created by Aamir A about 5 years ago