Validity Of Will

[Lighning]

My pal aged 78 had a solicitor to his house to draw up his will , I am the executor,she wrote all his wishes down so she could draw up the formal will, move on 2 weeks he is now in hospital having fallen over he is frail and a bit dopey due to drugs etc.Can he now sign the formal will in front of the solicitor plus witness even though his signature is now weak ,perhaps even a cross ? Will the will be valid ? There have been no changes to the will and the solicitor took his wishes down when he was composed and those will be what he agreed 3 weeks ago he resides in england

[jourdain2]

I would think that it will be valid. The solicitor can attest to the accuracy of his wishes, given whilst he was compos mentis. I would wait for Barmaid or N.J. - but this seems logical to me.

[Peter Pedant]

yes
they should get on with it

if the solicitor is there he will do the compos mentis stuff and not you

if you dont want to be executor for whatever reason you need to tell the old boy as soon as possible. The solicitor will be more than ready to step in, rub his hands with joy and collect the usual mega-fees.

[Barmaid]

Fraility and dopiness will not necessarily mean that the testator lacks testamentary capacity ("tc"). The solicitor should deal with this as PP says.

However, even if your pal has lost tc, as long as he understands that he is executing a Will for which he gave instructions and then executes it properly, the Will will be valid. This is the rule in Parker v Felgate.

[Barmaid]

Jourdain hits it on the head.

[Barmaid]

AND if the solicitor is with it, he or she will a) make a full and detailed attendance note stating the circumstances of execution, conversation, who was present. And I MEAN full and detailed. (Ie, I would pretty much want to know the number of breaths taken!!!, but I'm picky). and b) will ensure that the witnesses are reliable and easily contactable.

Of course this is only really going to be an issue if there is the likelihood of a challenge. But you never know.........

[Peter Pedant]

thx BM

[Lighning]

Thank you for your sound advice but..the situation now is that he can't pick up a pen and write!So where do I stand? The fact that his solicitor took his wishes down a few weeks ago when he knew what was happening can the solicitor give some form of valid attestation so that I can act as his executor? The main beneficiaries of his will are his 3 children but they are allocated different amounts and all live abroad and did not get on with him which is why I doing all the worry and leg work ! the total of his will is circa £750k ,but no property without me having some form of authority a family nightmare looms !

[fiction-factory]

>So where do I stand?
Well if the will hasn't been completed (and there is no existing will) then you are not going to have to sort this estate out for your pal as things stand at present. I realise you feel a responsibilty towards your pal but it seems unfair that you, rather than the main beneficiaries and family, have "all the worry and are doing all the legwork".
You need to talk to your pal and encourage him to call in his solicitor to finish off the will process asap. The fact that he cannnot physically sign should not be an insurmoutable problem

[Lighning]

Thanks but explain how we undertake the signing issue! Do I put a pen in his hand scrawl his signature in front of the witnesses he really is drugged up ?

[fiction-factory]

The solicitor will sort this out and take the worry away from you. It may cost the pal/his estate a bit of money but it's a drop in the ocean compared to £750K and as the principal beneficiaries don't seem interested then there is no downside as far as I can see

[fiction-factory]

If he's drugged up I'm not sure how the solicitor will deal with it but that's a matter for them to sort out.

[Barmaid]

He doesnt have to sign it. The solicitor will sort it out though. He can either "make his mark" or it can be signed by a third party "in his presence and at his direction and in the presence of 2 or more witnesses".