Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards exist for (a) vulnerable and (b) elderly people when (i) wills and (ii) codicils are prepared for them.

There are various safeguards in statute (principally the Wills Act 1837) and the common law in relation to the making of wills and codicils. The law requires that a testator must have the necessary testamentary capacity to make a will, and for that will to be valid a testator must also know and approve of the contents of his or her will (or codicil).

Where a will is executed as a result of fraud or undue influence, the will is void and therefore has no effect, and where there are concerns on these grounds there is a legal basis for challenging a will’s validity.

The Law Commission is currently reviewing the law of wills and one of the issues it has particularly focused on is the protection of vulnerable testators. The Commission will be publishing its final report shortly and the Government will consider its recommendations with care.