The Last Will and Testament of Martin Lavin has been declared invalid by the Court of Appeal because his sister, Anne, the sole Beneficiary of his estate, guided his signing hand.
Mr. Lavin died in hospital in 2004. A matter of hours before, he attempted to make his Last Will and Testament in which he named Anne as the sole Beneficiary. However, questions were quickly asked about the Will’s validity. With Mr. Lavin as ill as he was, Anne was accused of exerting undue influence over her brother during the Will-writing process, in that she either guided his shaking hand as he signed or actually signed on his behalf.
The case balanced on whether Mr. Lavin had directed his sister in her actions; Lord Justice Lewison deemed there had not been “positive and discernible communication” from Mr. Lavin and thus declared the Will invalid.
Linda Cummins, Head of Estate Planning at Goldsmith Williams, believe those who continue to put off making a Will could learn a lot from this case:
“We may never know Mr. Lavin true intentions but this case also highlights the potential dangers of procrastination.
“I fully appreciate why people continue to put off making a Will and getting their affairs in order; because in doing so, they are acknowledging their mortality. However, it is the one thing in life we can bank on happening and we have the power to make this inevitability a little easier for the ones we care about most.
“Mr Lavin’s sister passed away before the verdict was announced, meaning she was likely to have spent her final years locked in a legal battle with family members, a position no-one would want to find themselves in.”