The family of 92-year-old Carry Keats is facing an £800,000 court dispute after she partially tore up her Will shortly before passing. Keats, who owned property and land in Wiltshire, tore up most of her Will on her deathbed, leaving her estate’s future uncertain.
Here’s what’s at stake:
If the court decides Keats’s actions legally revoked the Will, she’ll be considered to have died intestate, meaning her entire estate could go to her sister, Josephine Oakley.
However, Keats’s five cousins, who were listed as beneficiaries in her original will, are challenging this in court. They argue that Keats was too weak to finish tearing up the will, with her solicitor completing the tear at her instruction. The cousins claim Keats’s intention was to disinherit her sister due to past disputes, while Oakley counters that tearing the Will was a response to the cousins’ suggestion of a care home. Oakley argues that in her final years, she and Keats grew closer, making her inheritance the most fitting outcome.
At the heart of the case is whether Keats had the mental and physical capacity to revoke her Will under the Wills Act 1837. If she didn’t, the Will could still stand. The verdict will clarify not only Keats’ intentions but also the importance of careful estate planning.
For anyone wanting certainty about their legacy, creating a clear and updated Will can help avoid these types of disputes down the line.
