Disputed Wills to be treated as contracts

The Supreme Court has ruled that disputed Wills should be interpreted using the same rules at those that apply to the interpretation of contracts. The judgment was made in a case involving mirror Wills, where the husband and wife had signed each other’s Wills by mistake.

The judge said that distinguishing between a contract and a Will on the basis that one was made between several parties and the other by just one party was "an unconvincing reason to adopt a different approach in principle to interpretation of wills."

This, he said, justified taking account of "surrounding circumstances" as evidence of the testator's intentions. In this case, Lord Neuberger went on, the mistake should be regarded as a 'clerical error' which the court could rectify under the Administration of Justice Act 1982.

The judgement means that any mistakes made in the future during routine office tasks such as preparing, filing and sending a will, can be attributed to clerical error and easily rectified. Although rare, simple mistakes can lead to serious disruption and delays for families at a difficult time.

For more information on making a Will or mirror Wills, please contact Vicky Jones at Lawson-West on 01858 445 480.

View all