A court has had to rule on the validity of a man’s will following conflicting claims from his daughter and his cohabiting partner.

The man made the will while terminally ill in hospital with liver disease. It was drawn up by his brother who was named as executor along with the man’s partner with whom he had lived for two years.

The man died five days after making the will which left all his estate to his partner. His daughter then claimed that he had lacked testamentary capacity when he made the will and so the court should rule it invalid. She was able to produce evidence from a hospital consultant that her father did not have the capacity to understand and authorise legal documents in the days before his death.

For her part, the cohabiting partner argued that she qualified as a claimant under the Inheritance (Provision for Family Dependents) Act 1975 and should be allowed to inherit the estate.

The court ruled that the father did lack the necessary capacity to understand and authorise the will and it should therefore be declared invalid. However, his partner had lived with him for more than two years before his death and so she was entitled to make a claim on the estate. This entitlement had to be balanced against the fact that the man loved his daughter and wanted to provide for her.

After considering all the circumstances, the court awarded the partner a lifetime interest in the house and awarded the rest of the assets to the daughter.

The judge clearly tried to be fair to both parties but much of the trouble may have been avoided if the man had taken legal advice long before he became ill and had drawn up a will while he was still fit and able. The thought of making a will may make some people feel uncomfortable but if it is drawn up properly with the help of a solicitor it can prevent a great deal of heartache for your family in future.