You won’t believe the strangest wills Charlie Young from Bennett & Philp’s has come across.
Drafting a will is not a priority for many of us until later in life. As a result, lawyers sometimes find themselves coming across the strangest wills, unique and non-traditional versions that often are not even valid. We spoke with Bennett & Philp estate litigation lawyer Charlie Young, who said that while non-professionally drafted wills can be interesting, they aren’t straight-forward or cheap to probate in court.
“A will drafted with professional assistance should avoid any potential interpretation problems and result
in a valid, legal document,” Mr Young said.
“Those instances where people have tried to do it themselves to save a few dollars or they do a hurried
job of it, unfortunately can result in big problems for those left behind if it’s unclear what the will is
supposed to mean or whether it is valid at all.”
Mr Young believes anyone over the age of 18 should have a will.
“It can be a daunting idea but having a properly prepared will makes things so much easier for the people
left behind.”
Here he shares some of the stranger “wills” Bennett & Philp has come across.
1.The Chicken Scratch Will
One case Mr Young dealt with involved a person suffering from a terminal illness who visited his local
lawyer to prepare his will.
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“At the appointment, the lawyer – whose handwriting a doctor would be proud of – made various notes which were intended to be used to type up a proper will for signing a later day, so no will was completed at the time,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the gentleman passed away the next morning and we had to perform a substantial amount of work for the executor in asking the court to approve the lawyer’s scrawled notes as the last will, which it did.”
2. The Post-It Note Will
A middle-aged woman left small Post-It Notes on her will. The Post-It Notes set out what appeared to be the woman’s updated wishes as to what was to happen with her estate.
“When this came across my colleague Barbara Houlihan’s desk, she knew it wasn’t going to be an easy case. After almost a year of litigation, the court ordered that the Post-It Notes were to be operative as the deceased’s last will.”
3. The Witnessed-But-Not-Witnessed Will
It is imperative that a will-maker’s signature be witnessed by two people. Any missing parts result in the legal requirements not being met. So, when Mr Young received a will containing signatures for the witnesses but not for the will-maker herself, he knew it was one he needed to take to court.
“Unfortunately, one aspect missing from a legal document can make all the difference and be a very costly exercise. The law sets out very strict requirements as to how a will must be executed,” Mr Young said.
“In this case, we had to track down the witnesses and explain in great detail to the court why they signed as witnesses when there was no will-maker’s signature to witness. The document was ultimately approved by the court as being the deceased’s last will.”
4. The iPhone Will
Given almost everyone is now using smartphones, it is not surprising to know that people have tried to make wills on mobile devices.
“The circumstances of the first smartphone will were very sad. A young man faced an intense personal crisis and carefully typed out his wishes on the Notes application in his phone shortly before ending his life,” Mr Young said.
“The executor, who was the man’s brother, could not implement the will’s instructions because it did not comply with legal requirements, though the Judge declared it valid and the probate was granted.
“At the time, I believe the court’s decision that a will typed and saved on a mobile phone constituted a valid will was a first in Queensland, if not Australia.”
Deciding what to put in your will and where to start can be daunting, though knowing your assets and beneficiaries are cared for could help put your mind at ease.
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