Michael Tringham follows families at war over intestacy claims
Two recent cases reveal the consequences of exposing family wounds in court. Both involve an adult child seeking to have their deceased parent declared intestate.
Brothers at law
When Daphne Jeffery died aged 76 in February 2010—10 days after her divorce was declared absolute—her last will left her £350,000 estate to the children of her son Andrew, and to her other son and joint executor Nicholas. Within four months Andrew, excluded from the will following a family dispute, was claiming for reasonable provision under the Inheritance Act 1975, asserting testamentary incapacity and undue influence by Nicholas.
During a four-day hearing this summer (Jeffery & Anor v Jeffery [2013] EWHC 1942 (Ch), [2013] All ER (D) 124 (Jul)) Mr Justice Vos heard evidence from barristers, solicitors and doctors before concluding: “The deceased obviously had capacity to make her wills. She never suffered from any mentally incapacitating complaint, even if she did experience occasional anxiety and mild depression.
“If people suffering from such complaints were unable to make wills, a large percentage
