Estate Planning

Statutory Wills in England and Wales

By Hull and Hull LLP

The Courts in England and Wales are gradually adapting to relatively new substitute decisions legislation (somewhat analogous to, but in many ways different from Ontario's Substitute Decisions Act).

In particular, the concept of "statutory wills" provides for a mechanism (in certain circumstances) where testamentary dispositions may be directed by a special court for incapable persons. Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which came into force in England and Wales in 2007, the Court of Protection must decide what would be in the person's 'best interests'. And some judges have decided that this includes how they would want to be remembered by their family:  'For many people it is in their best interests that they be remembered with affection by their family and as having done ‘the right thing' by their will.'

As recently reported on-line in the Telegraph, this somewhat controversial application of the concept of "best interests" may inadvertently give rise to opportunistic relatives benefiting from an estate in which the now incapable testator would never have wanted such person to share.

David M. Smith 

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on July 22, 2010 (boomark / email).