MEDICAL RECORDS IN WILL DISPUTES: HOW CAPACITY IS ASSESSED
Medical records are often important when someone’s mental capacity to make or change a will is disputed. They can help show what was recorded about the person’s health, memory and understanding around the time the will was made.
They can provide important evidence when the court is assessing capacity.
The legal test for testamentary capacity
Anyone making a new will or changing an existing one must have testamentary capacity. The established test from Banks v Goodfellow [1870] requires that the person making the will must understand:
- what making a will means and that it decides who inherits after their death
- the broad extent of the money, property and other assets they own
- the people who might reasonably expect to benefit from their estate
- how the decisions in the will affect those people
- and not be affected by a mental disorder that influences the decisions made in the will
If a will appears rational and was signed properly, the court will usually start from the assumption that the person had capacity.
That can change if there is evidence that raises real doubt about their capacity. The people relying on the will may then need to show that the person understood what they were doing when they made it.
What medical records can show
Medical records are most useful when they give detail about the person’s condition and day-to-day functioning around the period in question.
Dementia, memory problems, grief, medication, confusion and serious illness may all appear in the records. What matters is whether the notes say anything specific about how those issues affected the person in real life.
The records may also show that capacity changed from day to day. A person may have better and worse days, cope with simple decisions but struggle with more complicated ones or they may remember some people and events clearly, while being confused about others.
The strongest records are often the ones that connect a health problem to the will itself. For example, they may show that the person could not recognise close family, forgot major assets, or had a fixed false belief about someone who was left out of the will. Those details matter more than a general note saying the person was unwell.
When the records and the will do not line up
A will that leaves out close family, benefits someone unexpected, or goes against previous arrangements may be harder to explain if the medical records also show confusion, memory problems or vulnerability.
In Key v Key [2010], the court looked at the person’s age, health, grief and state of mind when deciding whether he had capacity. The case shows why the wider circumstances can matter, especially where a will was made at a difficult or unusual time.
A surprising will is not automatically invalid. People are allowed to make choices their family dislike or do not understand. But where an unexpected change appears alongside medical evidence of capacity problems, there may be stronger grounds to investigate.
The Golden Rule and evidence from the time
The purpose of the Golden Rule is to reduce the risk of later arguments about capacity. It says that where an elderly or seriously ill person is making a will, it is usually sensible to ask a medical professional to assess their capacity and record their findings. It is guidance, not a legal requirement, and a will does not automatically fail because it was not followed.
If no assessment was carried out, other evidence becomes more important. GP notes, hospital records, the solicitor’s file, witness statements and the will itself may all need to be considered together.
Why expert reports may be needed
Sometimes, a medical expert is asked to review the records and give an opinion on whether the person was likely to have had capacity when the will was made.
Their role is to interpret the medical records and explain what they may indicate about the person’s understanding, memory and decision-making.
For example, a report can explain how a condition like Alzheimer’s disease affected the person on a daily basis. It can also help where the records are mixed, such as where someone had a diagnosis but also had periods where they seemed clear and settled.
This type of evidence can be especially important in dementia and will validity disputes, because the issue is often not whether the person had the condition. It is whether their symptoms affected their ability to understand and make this particular will.
Speak to Will Claim about medical evidence in will disputes
Medical evidence can be difficult to judge without legal advice, especially where the records are mixed or an expert report may be needed.
If you are challenging a will because of capacity concerns, or defending an inheritance against such a claim, get in touch with our solicitors for a free assessment.
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This blog provides general information only and should not be treated as formal legal advice.