Jag-Preet Kaur & Henrietta Mason provide a wills & probate update
The recent case of Schrader v Schrader [2013] EWHC 466 (Ch), [2013] All ER (D) 89 (Mar) concerns will validity. On 1 October 1990 Jessica Schrader (the deceased) executed a will (the 1990 will) in which she left the residue of her estate to her two sons Bill and Nick. The will was prepared by the deceased’s usual solicitors, Cullens. The residue included her house.
On 12 April 2006 the deceased made a further will (the 2006 will) leaving legacies of minor value to grandchildren and specifically her house to Nick. The residue (which, without the house, was of little value) was to be divided between Bill and Nick. The 2006 will was not prepared by Cullens, but instead by a will-writing business called Premier Wills. The deceased died aged 98 on 21 January 2008.
The defendant, Bill, sought to prove the original 1990 will, being unaware of the existence of any later will.
Six months after the deceased died,
