Recent Case in the Doctrine of Dependant Relative Revocation
Dependent Relative Revocation is a principle which arises when the revocation (i.e. cancellation) of a Will is relative to another Will which has been made or is intended to be made and the revocation is so dependent on that other Will that the revocation is not intended unless that other Will takes effect.
This doctrine featured in a recent judgement of former High Court (now Court of Appeal) Judge Nuala Butler in November 2022, where a purported revocation of a Will was declared invalid.
She based her decision on the following findings:
The deceased attended his solicitor’s office on three occasions between 2000 and 2015 in relation to his Will and made two Wills over that period. The judge concluded that as a result of these visits to his solicitor it was clear that the testator did not intend to die intestate i.e. without a Will.
The Court found that the deceased was perfectly entitled to make any Will on whatever terms he wished.
In November 2015, the deceased attended his solicitors in order to remove a gift to a particular beneficiary from his Will. He had previously made a Will in 2012. By destroying his 2015 Will he understood (on the basis of legal advice that he had got which was incorrect) that he was revoking the 2012 Will. The Court was satisfied that at the time he destroyed the 2015 Will the deceased intended to revoke that Will in its entirety and not simply the gift to the beneficiary.
The Court found that the legal advice which the deceased had received was incorrect as the revocation of the 2015 Will did not have the legal effect of reviving the 2012 Will.
The Court crucially found that because the purported revocation of the 2015 Will was entirely based on the deceased’s understanding that by doing so it would revive the 2012 Will, the Court found that the purported revocation of the 2015 Will was not legally valid.
As such the Court decided that the 2015 Will remained valid and could be admitted the probate. The original of that Will had been destroyed by the deceased but the Court allowed a photocopy of that Will to be admitted to probate.
Accordingly, even though it was clear that the 2015 Will did not reflect the deceased’s wishes at the date of his death, it was still deemed to be valid because its revocation was dependent on an understanding that an earlier Will would be revived and it was also clear that the deceased did not intend to die intestate.
It is important to understand that the destruction of a Will does not revive a previous Will i.e. if you want to change your Will then you must make a new Will or add a codicil to your existing Will.
For further advice on any matters relating to Wills, trust, enduring powers of attorney, please do not hesitate to contact one of our solicitors on 012960666.
