Skip to content

I don’t think that my mum knew what she was doing when she made her Will. How can I tell if she lacked capacity?

You may be concerned that a family member or friend did not understand what they were doing when they made their Will. The legal test for whether or not a testator had sufficient mental capacity to make a Will requires that:

  • They understand the nature of the act of making a Will and its effect – in other words, that he or she understands that they are setting out how they wish for their estate to be distributed upon their death;
  • The size of their estate;
  • The individuals in respect of which they are morally bound to provide for and any consequences of not providing for these individuals; and
  • That they are not suffering from any disorder of the mind which may effectively poison their feelings toward people who may otherwise expect to benefit from the estate.

The process of analysing whether or not a testator did lack the mental capacity to make a Will involves consideration of the evidence of the solicitor or Will maker involved in the preparation of the Will, the testator’s medical records and the witness evidence of other people who were involved in the testator’s life.

Related FAQs

When will I receive a grant under this scheme?

The Chancellor confirmed that payments under the scheme would not be available immediately.

How do I avoid disputes and approach extensions of time and claims for additional payment with my Employer or Supplier?

The Construction Leadership Council (with backing from the Government) has issued practical guidance and draft pro-forma documents to enable all parties involved in the construction supply chain to enter into collaborative and open dialogue about applications for extensions of time and additional payment and to minimise potential disputes. The guidance can we downloaded here

The draft letters and notices included in the guidance have been prepared on the basis of the standard JCT Design and Build 2016 and NEC 3/4 Engineering and Construction Contract (Option A) and parties will need to make sure that they are completed/adjusted to comply with their own specific contracts.

The Cabinet Office has also issued a general statement calling on parties to contracts adversely affected by C-19 to act responsibly and fairly and to support national efforts to protect jobs and the economy.

The Media

The BBC

The national broadcaster’s collated content surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/coronavirus

and with regards to business:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business

How do I reduce employment costs? Are we talking about redundancy?

The obvious option to reduce the cost of your workforce is redundancy. However, that also reduces the number of employees and therefore your capacity.

My visa is about to expire, can I apply to extend it?

Yes, you should submit a new visa application before your current visa expires.

The visa application is a two stage process:

  • First you submit the online application and pay the fee
  • Second you attend a visa application centre to enrol your biometrics and verify your passport.

Submitting a valid online application before your current visa expires secures your right to continue living and working in the UK, even after your current visa has expired.

Visa application centres across the world have been closed due to covid19 but are now mostly re-open to enable you to book an appointment to complete your application, albeit some are experiencing a backlog of applications.