Wednesday 14 October 2009

I’VE seen some strange disputes in all my years as a will writer but perhaps none as unusual as the recent case of the animal lover’s daughter.

University lecturer Christine Gill contested her parents’ will after her mother left her entire £2.34m farm estate to the RSPCA.

MS Gill claimed she had been promised the estate but her father had, before his death, forced his wife into pledging the huge sum to the animal welfare group.

The recent court case heard how, after her mother’s death, Dr Gill discovered her parents had made wills leaving their farm to each other and then to the charity when they both died.

This allegedly contradicted repeated assurances that the daughter would inherit the estate.

Ultimately the 58-year-old won the case, leaving a very disappointed charity and raising a number of questions on the ethics of will writing.

Although an unfortunate situation for the Gill family, the case is a stone-wall example of why communication within a family is often key when making wills.

Of course, for the unlucky few with no loved ones left to leave a posthumous gift, a charity may seem an obvious and worthy benefactor of a small fortune.

Meanwhile, it is often a parent’s wish to keep their good intentions for their offspring a complete secret - a chance to surprise them and perhaps alleviate their grief in a small way at least.

However, in a situation which involves substantial assets and family members who may be expecting something they will not receive, a few hours of discussion when you’re alive can avoid leaving a lengthy and arduous legal dispute for your children when you’re gone.

The case also highlighted the importance of the folly of making verbal promises to loved ones without thinking them through.




No comments:

Post a Comment