In 2016, Mrs Wilcox died. She had made a will in 2014 which was written by her son Edward and witnessed by his friend and his friend’s wife. In that will, she left her property to her son.

Mrs Wilcox’s other children, Lesley and Dennis, argued that their mother only signed the will under the undue influence of Edward and that the accompanying deed, written in 1998, was not valid as their mother did not understand the document or she signed it under duress. In effect, Lesley and Dennis were arguing that Edward had forced their mother to leave him her property.

In 1996, the late Mr Wilcox was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. To prevent the council repossessing her property, Edward provided Mrs Wilcox with money to purchase the property. A deed of trust was created at the same time as the purchase which confirmed that Edward had provided this money, and that the property was conveyed to Mrs Wilcox ‘merely as a trustee for him’. This deed was signed by Mrs Wilcox and her solicitor. 

Mrs Wilcox continued to live in that property until following a short stay in care, she died. 

Mrs Wilcox had made several wills throughout the years. The first in 1999 left the whole property to Edward. A second will in 2004 left 70% of the property to Edward and 30% to be shared equally between Lesley and Dennis, hence why they were disputing the legality of the 2014 will. 

The judge disagreed with Lesley and Dennis. He held that despite Mrs Wilcox making the will whilst in her late 80s and with a possible diagnosis of Alzheimers, “given the background of dealings with the property as set out and found above, the provision is not surprising, and I am not persuaded that her signature was the result of undue influence… Nor is it surprising in my judgment that Mrs Wilcox should want her son who had provided her with the purchases monies to be entitled beneficially to the property.”

This case highlights the importance of not only creating a valid will and letting close relatives know of your desires as set out in the will, but to also ensure any beneficial interest in your property is formally documented. 

If you would like information about disputing a will, contesting a will, probate disputes, or inheritance disputes, please contact our specialist contentious probate lawyers on 01902 424 927 and ask to speak to either Susan Ford, Liam Owen or Philippa Rowley, (our contentious probate specialists). Our team at George Green LLP are regarded as one of the Midlands' leading teams of will disputes and contentious probate solicitors.  

We offer a free initial free telephone consultation and we can often act for clients who want to dispute a will or commence an inheritance dispute/probate dispute on a no win no fee basis. Alternatively, please e-mail us at contentiousprobate@georgegreen.co.uk providing a brief summary of the issues you wish to discuss with us, along with your contact details.