{"id":1981,"date":"2025-10-23T01:06:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctt-group.co.uk\/tax-trust\/?p=1981"},"modified":"2025-10-23T01:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:06:09","slug":"understanding-testamentary-capacity-how-ctt-helps-you-and-your-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctt-group.co.uk\/tax-trust\/understanding-testamentary-capacity-how-ctt-helps-you-and-your-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding testamentary capacity: How CTT helps you and your clients\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Working as a professional adviser, you encounter all kinds of client situations and family circumstances. Some of these are challenging. One such circumstance is the issue of testamentary capacity.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What should you do if you suspect your client lacks the mental capacity to make their will?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

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What is testamentary capacity?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Testamentary capacity is a measure that ensures a testator has the necessary mental capacity to make a valid will.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are various factors that affect testamentary capacity. These include a head injury, poor mental health, a congenital condition (something the client was born with), or a condition they\u2019ve developed later in life, such as dementia.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the rise in people living longer, it\u2019s becoming more and more common to encounter clients with age-related conditions that may affect their ability to make a valid will. Recent statistics show 1 in 5 of us will develop some form of dementia within our lifetimes, and this figure is expected to increase.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the person who deals directly with the client when making their will or LPA, it\u2019s essential you know how to spot the signs of diminished capacity and what steps to follow to ensure any planning they put in place is valid and incontestable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Banks V Goodfellow<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The historical case of Banks V Goodfellow set the grounds for establishing testamentary capacity over 150 years ago.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The case dealt with the will of Mr John Banks, a wealthy landowner who suffered from delusions and epilepsy throughout his life. In 1863, Banks made a new will leaving his sizeable estate to his niece, Margaret Goodfellow. Banks died two years later, and shortly after, so did his niece. His heir at law, William Banks, contested the will on the grounds that Banks lacked testamentary capacity at the time of making it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The court used the following criteria to assess Banks\u2019 state of mind at the time of making his will. They found that he did indeed have ‘a sound disposing mind\u2019 and the will was valid. These criteria are still used today to establish a testator’s mental capacity to make a valid will.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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To have testamentary capacity the testator must:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n