What is undue influence when making a Will?

The Court of Appeal in the recent case of Rea v Rea has confirmed that a high bar must be reached in order to succeed with an undue influence claim in relation to the making of a Will.

The background

Anna Rea made a simple one-paged Will in 1986 leaving her estate in equal shares to her four children: daughter Rita and her three sons.

In 2015 Anna made a new Will in which she left her property 5 Brenda Road (the largest asset in the estate) to her daughter Rita with the residue being divided equally between the four children. The sons contested the new Will and Rita brought proceedings to ‘prove the 2015 Will’ asking the Court to give it effect. Rita’s brothers challenged the claim saying that the 2015 Will was invalid on the grounds of undue influence; in other words they alleged that she had been pressured or coerced into making the Will.

There were two trials and two appeals. In the first trial the Judge found in favour of Rita; that decision was appealed and the Court overturned the decision and ordered a re-trial of the case. In the second trial the Judge found that Rita had exercised undue influence over her mother and pressured her into making a new Will leaving the house to her. Rita appealed this decision.

At the final hearing on 23 February 2024, the Court of Appeal found that the evidence did not entitle the judge to find undue influence and said that for coercion to be proved, it had to be shown that coercion was ‘the most probable possibility’.

The Court commented that there was a perfectly rational basis for giving Rita 5 Brenda Road. Rita had both lived there and looked after her mother for six years and that it was Anna's perception that Rita needed 5 Brenda Road as a home and that her sons did not care for her, had abandoned her and had “their own homes and jobs”. The Court therefore concluded that there was no evidence of coercion and that the evidence was consistent with the (inherently more probable) possibility of Anna Rea’s daughter having merely persuaded her mother to make the 2015 Will.

Comment

This case underlines how difficult it is to succeed with an undue influence case. The Will had been prepared by an independent solicitor who had sensibly taken the precaution of having the Will witnessed by the testator’s GP.

If you need advice or furhter information on the above or any other litigation issue, contact Julie Bradwell on York 01904 716000, Wetherby 01937 583210 or Malton 01653 692247 or email julie.bradwell@warekay.co.uk.