header-logo header-logo

Constructing rectification

23 May 2014 / Jonathan Steinert , Paris Aboro
Issue: 7607 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
printer mail-detail

 Jonathan Steinert & Paris Aboro examine the Supreme Court’s approach to the rectification of a will

In the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Marley v Rawlings [2014] UKSC 2, [2014] 1 All ER 807 it was held that, where a husband and wife had mistakenly signed one another’s draft wills, as a result of a clerical error, the court was able to intervene and rectify the wills in order to give effect to the intentions of the testator.

Background

In May 1999, Mr and Mrs Rawlings were visited by their solicitor in order that they could execute the wills he had drafted on their instructions. The wills were short and were drafted in largely identical terms, as “mirror wills”. By their terms, each spouse left his or her entire estate to the other, but, if the other had predeceased, the entire estate was left to the appellant, Mr Marley, to whom the couple were not related but had treated as a son.

By an oversight on the part of the solicitor, each spouse

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll