Charles Towl Successful in 2-day High Court Will Validity Claim

Following a 2-day trial in the Business and Property Courts in Birmingham, Charles Towl successfully represented the Claimant in defending against a will validity challenge. 

The challenge was brought by the Deceased’s sibling on the basis of an alleged lack of testamentary capacity. The Defendant argued that the impact of the Deceased’s long-term medical conditions on her cognitive ability, together with the fact that the will writer’s attendance note recorded some forgetfulness, suggested a lack of capacity. 

Charles argued that, although the Deceased’s medical conditions did cause a level of impairment, that alone is insufficient to result in a lack of testamentary capacity. In any event, as the medical records relevant to capacity did not extend to the period during which the Will was executed, the best evidence of testamentary capacity was that of the will writer. Notwithstanding the fact the attendance notes recorded some minor confusion when giving instructions, the overall effect of that evidence suggested that the Deceased had capacity. 

Unusually for a testamentary capacity claim, expert evidence on the Deceased’s capacity had not been ordered. As a result, Charles’ submissions were primarily based on the Deceased’s medical records which ran to some 2,000 pages. 

The Judge accepted Charles’ submissions, finding that although the Deceased’s long-term medical conditions impacted her cognitive ability, the best evidence at the date of execution of the Will was that of the will writer which suggested the Deceased had requisite capacity.