Estate Planning

A Family at War

By Hull & Hull LLP

Although it seems that I hear of a new tale of familial strife weekly in this practice, I still find myself surprised and saddened to hear of each new account. One such case takes us to England, where it was recently reported that the daughters of a millionaire farmer are accused by their brothers to have plied their father with whisky and sleeping tablets before making him sign a Will leaving the sisters £600,000. At the time, their father, 89, was apparently grieving for his wife, who had died days earlier after a 65-year marriage. He was also possibly suffering from Alzheimer's.

The brothers' version of events paints a picture of a man in a weakened condition being taken advantage of in a grief-stricken state. In contrast, the sisters explain that their father was a stubborn man who knew what he was doing and who wanted to treat all his children equally (he had already apparently left land worth an equivalent amount to his sons).

Both sides called expert medical witnesses, with doctors offering different opinions over the testator's capacity. In addition, others close to the deceased gave evidence of their observations of him. Notably, the Will was drawn up by a solicitor who had acted for the father for many years, who testified that he had the necessary capacity and knew and approved of the Will's contents. 

If the brothers' case is successful, the court will uphold a prior Will in which they will inherit most of the £1.2million estate. Their sisters, in contrast, will each receive only £15,000.

While the outcome of this case is not yet known, to me it highlights the importance of gathering evidence to support one's position in this type of litigation. As a deceased loved one is unable to offer up assistance from the grave, medical evidence, lawyer's evidence and the evidence of people close to a testator are often all necessary to help put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Have a good day,

Natalia Angelini

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on February 25, 2010 (boomark / email).