Contentious probate and will disputes: annotated case table (England and Wales) 2015–2025—capacity, undue influence, proprietary estoppel, knowledge and approval, fraud, construction/rectification, conflicts, evidence, costs

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Testamentary capacity

Oliver v Oliver [2024] EWHC 2289 (Ch) – News Analysis: Will overturned for want of testamentary capacity and undue influence (Oliver v Oliver). This judgment is an uncommon instance of a successful attack on a professionally drafted Will for both incapacity and coercion, even where the court had a recording of the testator’s instructions and the GP had issued a supporting certificate. Despite those formalities, the court concluded the Will should be set aside on both grounds. Alexandra Rogers, managing associate at Foot Anstey LLP.
Leonard v Leonard (by her litigation friend Sharon Thompsett) [2024] EWHC 321 (Ch) – News Analysis: High Court offers guidance on the test for testamentary capacity (Leonard v Leonard). The High Court examines and clarifies Banks v Goodfellow, and underscores the continuing importance of expert evidence in capacity disputes. It underscores how clinical and legal evaluations interact closely, effectively. George Vare, barrister at Serle Court Chambers.
Wilkinson v Hicken [2023] EWHC 1983 (Ch) – News Analysis: Personality disorders and testamentary capacity—Will upheld by the High Court (Re Wilkinson). The presumption of capacity was not displaced; although the testator’s choice to largely exclude his children ‘might be seen as unfair’, it was not irrational...

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