Jonathan McDonagh provides an expert view of what should change in the law of wills
- General modernisation & electronic wills.
- Testamentary freedom & undue influence.
The Law Commission is presently seeking consultation in respect of its wills project. In Consultation Paper 231, published on 13 July 2017, the Commission notes that the law of wills potentially affects the entire population, but that the current law ‘is not as clear or protective as it could be, and it could do more to encourage and facilitate people to make wills’. It is estimated that around 40% of the adult population of England and Wales die without a will. In respect of those wills that are made, the Commission thinks that current problems with the law arise mainly from the antiquity of that law: as stated in the Consultation Paper (at 1.10 of the summary)—‘The law in England and Wales that governs wills is, in large part, a product of the 19th century: the main statute is the Wills Act 1837, and the law that specifies when a person has the mental
