A woman has succeeded in overturning her mother’s will after taking legal action to revoke the grant of probate.

The mother, who had five children, made a will in 1993. She appointed her two youngest sons as executors and left them half her estate. The other half was to be divided between her grandchildren and her cousin. There was no provision for her other three children.

The woman died in 2004 and probate was granted to her two youngest sons as executors. This gave them the right to administer the estate in accordance with the will.

However, the woman’s daughter then sought to have the grant of probate revoked on the basis that her mother lacked testamentary capacity when she made the will and so it could not be taken as a reflection of her true wishes.

The daughter was able to show that her mother had a long history of mental illness. An expert witness said she would not have been capable of considering the issues properly when making the will. The sons offered no contradictory evidence about their mother’s mental health or any evidence as to the validity of the will.

The court therefore felt bound to conclude that the mother lacked capacity when she made the will. The grant of probate was revoked and the matter will now be dealt with as if the mother had died without having made a will. This means the estate should now be divided equally between the five children.