Will Successfully Overturned On The Grounds Of Undue Influence: The Estate Of Anna Rea Deceased

• Published date: 07 August 2023
• Law Firm: Wright Hassall
• Author: Ms Anna C. Sutcliffe

On 26 July 2023, Judgment was handed down by His Honour Judge Hodge KC on the re-trial of the case of Rea v Rea [2023] EWHC 1901 (Ch). Mrs Anna Rea died on 26 July 2016 at the age of 88. Anna was divorced and had three sons and one daughter from her marriage, namely: Rita, Remo, Nino and David.

Anna made a Will on 29 May 1986 (the "1986 Will"). This was a straightforward, one page document prepared by a solicitor shortly after Anna's divorce. It split Anna's estate equally between her four children.

On 7 December 2015, Anna made a second Will (the "2015 Will"). This was prepared by a qualified and experienced solicitor who complied with the golden rule in ensuring that Anna's capacity was confirmed by her general practitioner who was additionally a witness to the 2015 Will.

The 2015 Will gifted Anna's property (the "Property") which was her most valuable asset to Rita and split the residue equally between the four children. The 2015 Will contained a declaration stating: "I DECLARE that my sons do not help with my care and there have been numerous calls for help from me, but they are not engaging with any help or assistance. My sons have not taken care of me and my daughter, Rita Rea, has been my sole carer for many years. Hence, should any of my sons challenge my estate, I wish my executors to defend any such claim as they are not dependant on me, and I do not wish for them to share in my estate save what I have stated in this Will".

The original claim by Rita seeking an Order as to the validity of the 2015 Will took place in September 2019 and Deputy Master Arkush found the 2015 Will to be valid. Upon a number of applications an appeal was allowed on the basis that the Deputy Master had made an error in preventing cross-examination, which caused serious prejudice to the sons resulting in the trial being unfair. It was acknowledged that this was a "most unfortunate result" having regard to the emotional stress for the parties, irrecoverable costs already incurred and further inevitable irrecoverable costs to be incurred. The parties were strongly urged "to do everything possible to reach a consensual settlement of their differences rather than fight out a re-trial". Sadly, an amicable resolution was not forthcoming.

The sons challenged the validity of the 2015 Will on the following grounds: want of testamentary capacity, want of knowledge and approval, undue influence and fraudulent calumny practiced by Rita on Anna.

The case includes detailed...