Coles v Reynolds & Anor [2020] EWHC 2151 (Ch) was a claim brought by the first daughter (the Claimant) of the deceased against the second daughter (the Defendant). The Claimant claimed that the deceased had been unduly influenced to create a will which was in the Defendant’s benefit.

HHJ Paul Matthews firstly made it clear that any fresh oral evidence that a party wishes to adduce at a hearing cannot be taken into account. A party wishing to claim that a will has been made under the doctrine of undue influence must, therefore, provide all relevant evidence in the early stages.

It was held that any element of undue influence could not be found, and the will was therefore valid. The deceased was advised by an independent solicitor and interviewed by that solicitor alone, who was satisfied that the deceased was making the will independently. Although the claimant put forward questions over the deceased’s mental capacity, no evidence was provided to satisfy such questions.

The judgment makes it clear that, even if a will allocates unfairly between beneficiaries (or, as in this case, leaving out a beneficiary entirely), there must be sufficient evidence of undue influence in order to claim it successfully. Evidence should be direct and can include, for example, the alleged being present at the making of the will, or a solicitor not advising independently. However, mere circumstantial evidence, such as questions over mental capacity or a will that is different to what is expected, is not enough without any direct evidence.

If you would like information about disputing a will, probate disputes or inheritance disputes, please call 01902 424927 and ask to speak to one of our specialist contentious probate lawyers. 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.

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