Is this will valid

youyangs

The Society of Will Writers has their own scheme. Yes probate has been applied for but not granted yet.

Sarahspangles

youyangs said:

The Society of Will Writers has their own scheme. Yes probate has been applied for but not granted yet.

Okay, so while he/she doesn’t have a law degree it’s their day job and presumably the society has some standards/code of ethics.  But that’s his/her problem.

Is the offer to negotiate still on the table if probate is granted?  Are they just spinning the wheels hoping it will be?

youyangs

I’m not sure if any desire to negotiate might evaporate if a grant was obtained? It could be tactical.

Perhaps a caveat is needed. Another can be placed if new evidence comes to light, even if a previous one was warned. Is that correct?

Alderbank

youyangs said:

A highly respected solicitor said the following:

"I feel the circumstances are such that if an allegation of undue influence arose, it may be difficult to defend and could result in lasting damage to the friendship and the potential undermining of the will writers reputation/integrity.

The will writer should have been reluctant to act as a witness.

No matter how close a friend they are, the beneficiary should have referred the testatrix to someone independent to prepare the will.

If the potential testator was “still grieving” they should have been wary of preparing a potentially contentious will, mindful of the judge’s comments in Key v. Key, 2010."

Why would the highly respected solicitor advise this?

My own will was witnessed only by the will writer. I'm not concerned. Should I be?

The will writer is senior partner in a long-established solicitor practice well respected in the town where I live. We only require one witness here in Scotland.

youyangs

Because the Will writer wasn’t sufficient independent.

Spendless

I'm guessing an angle you've  looked at is if the will is 100% accurate? Only because you're referring to a 'will drafter' rather than talking about a solicitor.

At work recently I had one of those 'buy a will from  WH Smiths' forms  to check over and noticed the signature of the testator was in the wrong place. I initially thought it hadn't been signed at all, a further look I saw it had but not on the line it was meant to. I had to refer it higher up the chain than me to  be looked at.

These type of 'DIY wills'  if that's what you're talking about can be prone to mistakes being made as you fill them in.  If you discover there's an error on it  that makes the will invalid that way, might be worth looking at. 

Sarahspangles

Spendless said:

I'm guessing an angle you've  looked at is if the will is 100% accurate? Only because you're referring to a 'will drafter' rather than talking about a solicitor.

At work recently I had one of those 'buy a will from  WH Smiths' forms  to check over and noticed the signature of the testator was in the wrong place. I initially thought it hadn't been signed at all, a further look I saw it had but not on the line it was meant to. I had to refer it higher up the chain than me to  be looked at.

These type of 'DIY wills'  if that's what you're talking about can be prone to mistakes being made as you fill them in.  If you discover there's an error on it  that makes the will invalid that way, might be worth looking at. 

The OP has now said the ‘will drafter’ is a member of the Society of Will Writers, up to which point I’d been imagining an accountant or similar.

youyangs

Spendless said:

I'm guessing an angle you've  looked at is if the will is 100% accurate? Only because you're referring to a 'will drafter' rather than talking about a solicitor.

At work recently I had one of those 'buy a will from  WH Smiths' forms  to check over and noticed the signature of the testator was in the wrong place. I initially thought it hadn't been signed at all, a further look I saw it had but not on the line it was meant to. I had to refer it higher up the chain than me to  be looked at.

These type of 'DIY wills'  if that's what you're talking about can be prone to mistakes being made as you fill them in.  If you discover there's an error on it  that makes the will invalid that way, might be worth looking at. 

He is a non-solicitor will drafter. Someone without legal qualifications or qualified to give financial advice and the SWW is only self-regulated, rather than regulated.

The will does contain an error. The instructions name a vague default beneficiary (I can't disclose the details), which is then included under the substitutional provisions. Not the same thing, but an error rather than a source of invalidity of the will.

But the Wills Act of 1837 mentions "independent witnesses". How can the will drafter be independent, when they are writing a will gifting one of their closest friends 95% of the estate for a testatrix they don't know and who has multiple physical and mental issues?

By agreeing to witness a signature, you are agreeing to give unbiased evidence of what was signed, by whom and when if this is required at a later date if the validity of the document or the circumstances of the execution are called in to question at a later date.

Alderbank

youyangs said:

But the Wills Act of 1837 mentions "independent witnesses". How can the will drafter be independent, when they are writing a will gifting one of their closest friends 95% of the estate for a testatrix they don't know and who has multiple physical and mental issues?

No it doesn't.

s9(c) Signing and attestation of wills says 'the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time'

Look it up:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/data.pdf

Savvy_Sue

youyangs said:

But the Wills Act of 1837 mentions "independent witnesses". How can the will drafter be independent, when they are writing a will gifting one of their closest friends 95% of the estate for a testatrix they don't know and who has multiple physical and mental issues?

By agreeing to witness a signature, you are agreeing to give unbiased evidence of what was signed, by whom and when if this is required at a later date if the validity of the document or the circumstances of the execution are called in to question at a later date.

An independent witness only excludes beneficiaries. This person is not a beneficiary. 

Plus the witness is only signing to confirm that they saw the testator sign something, in the presence of another witness. They don't have to know the contents or the circumstances.