When did you last read your own Will?
Anyone who has made a Will should have been advised to keep it under review. The importance of this has been shown in a recent decision by the High Court.
Many parents wish to ensure that all of their children are treated equally under their Wills but want to give a particular item, perhaps land or a piece of antique furniture to one particular child. In order to balance the books, they will often make a cash gift of an amount equal to the value of the gift to their other children.
In the case that came before the court a father had made a will giving one of his sons some land, valued at the time of making the Will at £50,000, and giving his other three children a cash gift of that amount. At the time of the father’s death the value of the land had increased to £110,000.
Unfortunately, the father had not amended his Will to reflect the increase in the value of the land. His other 3 children therefore received gifts of £50,000 each whilst the son with the land had an asset with a much larger value.
One of the sons who received the gift of £50,000 took the view that this was unfair and that his father could not have understood the effect of his Will when he made it as he would not have wanted such inequality to arise between his children. The court however did not agree and stated that whilst the end result may not have been what the father envisaged on the day he made his Will there was no evidence to show that he did not understand the Will.
Of course, the reverse of this case could easily happen, with the land or item given to a specific child falling in value between the time of making the Will and the death meaning that other children receive a larger proportion of their parent’s estate than planned.
If you have made a gift like this in your Will or you’d like to have your Will checked Vine Law offer a free Will review service so that you can ensure that your Will does what you want on your death. If you’d like some more information please call Cath Collins on 01945 898090 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
