Sisters win dispute with widow over their father's will

Three sisters have won a dispute with their father’s widow over the validity of his will, which he made shortly before he died.

The case involved a man who lived in Grenada with his second wife. In 2014, he visited England to see his three daughters from his previous marriage. While he was there he executed a will leaving property in the UK and Grenada to the daughters.

After he died, they discovered that his widow had applied for letters of administration of his estate in Grenada on the basis that he had died without making a will. They took legal action to revoke the grant of letters of administration, and for them to be granted probate, which would enable them to administer their father’s estate in accordance with his will.

The widow claimed her husband had not executed the will, which did not reflect the discussions he had with her. The case was eventually settled in the English High Court, which ruled in favour of the daughters.

It held that the evidence showed the will had been duly executed, that the deceased had testamentary capacity and that he knew and approved of the contents of the 2014 will. He had left his widow some land but not as much money as she had expected.

The terms of the will were entirely rational. It made less provision for his widow than she might have hoped for but that was a decision made by the deceased. The 2014 will was accordingly admitted to probate.

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