Amending a will

oleras

If someone, 72 years old wants to change a small portion of their will, is it good practice to get a Testamentary capacity from their doctor or a legal requirement ? Adding in a small cash sum for a grandchild in case it matters.

There isnt a hope this will be contested, solicitor is asking for the doctors report but costs €150.

endofrainbow

apply a codicil.

oleras

endofrainbow wrote: »

apply a codicil.

And would that need to be accompanied by a doctors report that the person is of sound mind ?

Peregrinus

There's no law positively requiring a doctor's report before a will can be amended (or made, for that matter). But it generally is considered a good practice at least to think about this, especially where a will is amended in favour of a particular family member, since thie nearly always happens at the expense, directly or indirectly, of one or more other family members. And you would be surprised how exercised some family members get about things like this.

I note that the amount involved is "a small cash sum", and you might assume that this means that there is no likelihood of its being challenged. Economically, the costs of challenging it are not justified by the amount involved. And nine times out of ten you'd be right. But the solicitor has no way of knowing that this case isn't the tenth time. For some family members "it's not about the money" and "it's the principle of the thing". It's about who is the more loved. Why is my brother's useless lump of a daughter favoured in this way when my fine upstanding son is not? My father would never have disrespected my son in this way if he had not been subject to unspeakable emotional blackmail when he was old, frail and vulnerable! Etc, etc; you can write the script yourself.

You may laugh, but a good part of wills and estates practice lies in heading off these situations before they arise.