Wimbledon
Does watching
prove your sanity?
Centre court was a major focal point this summer with Andy Murray being the first Brit to win a men’s Wimbledon title for the UK for the first time in 77 years.
Yet this was not the only tennis tale in court grabbing attention, for a sad story of a family feud was unfolding in London over the matter of a mother’s will. The crucial question was whether or not she was of sound mind when she made her Will. One son, who has been disinherited, believes she was not. The other, who benefitted, believes she was. The disinherited son alleges that his mother was unwell, and had mental health issues at the date of signing her Will. Evidence to the contrary was provided by the other son who gave details of a day out to Wimbledon during which his mother drove to the venue, and watched the women’s final in full sunshine without, apparently, any evidence of lack of soundness of mind. This day trip occurred within two days of the Will signing and, it is alleged that the mother was fine then, and by extension was fine on the day she signed her Will. We are awaiting the judge’s decision in this case, so we do not yet know whether watching tennis is evidence of sanity or not! There are three main tests to decide whether a Will is valid or not. These are whether the person making it knew: it was a Will that applies from the date of death the scope and extent of their assets and the individuals who may have a legal or moral claim on those assets. These provide a starting point, but recent legal cases have focussed on the possible mental incapacity of those who would seem to pass these three hurdles easily. For instance, a grieving widower altered his Will shortly after his wife died. It was decided that his circumstances were such as to temporarily cloud his judgement and prevent him from making a rational considered decision. That altered Will was set aside. By contrast, a recent challenge to a Will based on the apparent lack of capacity of the person in question failed because the person making the Will went to a solicitor who took copious notes of their meeting and thoroughly questioned their client about their intentions. A three-year study conducted by a solicitor and a doctor has shown that even for professionals it would have still been difficult to spot whether firstly someone has a mental disorder, and secondly whether that disorder is sufficient to prevent them from making a valid Will. They concluded that a “good interview” is far more likely to result in an accurate assessment and a valid Will, than a cursory chat. At Mayo Wynne Baxter it may seem that we’re asking a lot of impertinent quest ????????????e???????????????
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