Ensuring that you hold a valid Will at the time of death is extremely important. It ensures that the person or people whom you wish to see benefit from your money and assets at the time of your death are the ones who actually benefit. Many problems can arise if somebody dies without leaving a Will and, in these circumstances, a lot of time and money can be wasted in trying to trace distant relatives who are perhaps the only individuals who can benefit from estate money when no Will has been prepared.
It is essential for anyone making a Will to have the necessary mental capacity to understand what it is they are trying to achieve and who it is they wish to benefit. Of course, problems can arise if an individual’s mental capacity is no longer sufficient for a Will to be prepared. In such situations an application needs to be made to the Court of Protection for a Statutory Will to be prepared.
It is necessary for a formal application to be made to the Court of Protection for a Statutory Will to be put in place. It is ultimately the Court that will make the final decision, either on an uncontested basis, perhaps following consideration of the paperwork before it, or alternatively, following a hearing when individuals have provided oral evidence, as to what should be contained within the Statutory Will.
Applications for Statutory Wills can be made for any number of reasons. Perhaps the individual, before they lost mental capacity, prepared a Will but the contents of that Will are no longer relevant; perhaps because the person or persons named in the Will have already died or are no longer able to receive an inheritance; perhaps a substantial amount of money has been received by the individual which needs to be dealt with by way of a Will in a different format from a previous occasion; perhaps an existing Will has not taken account of a change in circumstances, details of which could not have been anticipated when the original Will was made. Sometimes, indeed, a Statutory Will is required to try and equalise payments to beneficiaries at the time of death, due to lifetime gifts.
Careful consideration needs to be made upon such an application to the Court, also careful thought needs to be given to the expected wishes and preferences of the individual who requires the Will to be put in place but no longer has the capacity to provide the full instructions for that to take place. We at Martyn Prowel Solicitors can certainly help to advise as to whether a Statutory Will is required and, if so, how that application is to proceed. For further advice or assistance please contact our office on 02920 4709 to speak to Natalie Harvey