Contested will of £900,000 estate amended by the High Court in recent case

In the recent case of Mundil-Williams v Williams and others [2021] EWHC 586 (Ch), the High Court considered the last valid will of Mr John Williams, who died in 2017 at the age of 91. He had four sons, first Timothy, who was the claimant in this case. His other three sons, Richard, Thomas and William, were defendants alongside his wife, Susan.

The total value of the estate amounted to £983,000, £700,000 of which was a farm that Mr Williams owned. Under the terms of a will made in 1990, the residual estate was left in equal shares to his four sons.

The key question for the High Court to consider was whether a will made in 2014 would revoke and replace the 1990 will.

Timothy contested the will made by his father in 2014 and argued that it should be rendered invalid on the grounds that his father lacked sufficient knowledge and approval of its contents.

The issue surrounded instructions given for the 2014 will by Mr Williams which differed between the initial meeting with a secretary of the law firm and a later conversation with a paralegal.

Under the secretary’s instruction, Richard would inherit the agricultural tenancy and a 62.5% share of the reversion (which would fall into residue), with a 5-year option to buy the remaining 37.5%.

Under the paralegal’s instruction, and what the 2014 will came to reflect, Richard would inherit the farm outright. As for Timothy, Thomas and William, they would still inherit 12.5% of the residuary estate, but the residuary estate would not include the reversion of the Farm. Therefore, the paralegal’s instruction would leave either nothing or nothing significant in the residuary estate for the other sons to inherit.

Giving Judgment, Keyser HHJ held that Mr Williams did not understand, under the provisions of the 2014 will, that the farm was not part of the residuary estate and would be left entirely to Richard. Therefore, he was held not to have sufficient knowledge and approval of the contents of the will.

However, unlike many will dispute cases, Keyser HHJ did not render the 2014 will invalid on this basis, instead opting to amend the will to more accurately reflect Mr Williams’ intentions.

If you would like advice about a will dispute or any type of contentious probate case, please call 01902 424927 and ask to speak to one of our specialist contentious probate lawyers. Alternatively, please e-mail us at contentiousprobate@georgegreen.co.uk providing a brief summary of the issues you wish to discuss with us, along with your contact details.

We have a dedicated practice team of contentious probate solicitors, covering all areas of the UK (with offices near Birmingham and in Wolverhampton) who are experienced in dealing with all types of contentious probate matters, including challenging a will and estate disputes.

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