Can I Make A Will On Behalf Of Someone Else?
Posted on 10th March 2020
A statutory Will is a Will made on behalf of somebody else, for example if they lack capacity, or if they are physically unable to change their Will themselves. Our solicitors in Lancaster can tell you that a common reason why a person could need a statutory Will could be because they have dementia, and haven’t already got a Will in place. Another reason may be if a person is born without capacity and needs a Will in place for when they are over the age of 18.
One example of a situation where a statutory Will could be required, our team of local solicitors for Wills would explain, is when a child is born with life-changing injuries due to the negligence of a GP, Doctor or other health care professional.
The parent may contact our team of medical negligence solicitors in Preston or Lancaster, and check whether they are able to make a claim for injury compensation. If they can, our team of medical negligence solicitors in Preston will deal with the whole claim on behalf of the minor child (liaising with their parent/parents on their behalf).
Once the claim has been successfully finished (based on our team’s success rate of over 99% in settling personal injury compensation claims), the child could be left with a huge amount of money. Whilst this will no way make up for the fact that they have potentially lost a ‘quality’ of life (i.e. being able to live independently and without assistance), this will assist the minor or young adult throughout their life, to ensure that they can afford the help they need.
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Once they have this money, as they would be unable to make a Will themselves, it would generally pass under the Rules of Intestacy, which you can read about, here.
If both of the child’s parents are still alive, and equally care for the child, this might be absolutely fine. However, if one parent hasn’t been involved with the child for its lifetime, or if the child no longer has any contact with their parents, this might need to be changed.
In cases such as these, the remaining parent, or the legal guardian/s, could apply for a statutory Will for the person (once they are 18 years old).
The Court will require information about the person, their financial circumstances and details of their carers/relatives. They will also require supporting documents, such as a copy of the person’s current Will (if they have one), and information about the proposed new Will.
The Court will need to be entirely satisfied that the new Will (or the first Will, if the person does not have one already) is what the person would have wanted, and the terms are just and within the scope of their powers. If not, they may reject your application.
To make the initial application to the Court, you will need to pay a fee of £365.00. If the Court deems a hearing is necessary, there will be a fee to pay of £485.00 in addition.
Whilst it may seem costly, if your loved one has an estate worth, for example, £500,000.00, it’s important to make sure that their affairs are in order, so that their money passes how they would want it to (as long as the Court agrees that this is logical).
Our team of local solicitors for Wills can advise you on making an application for a statutory Will, as well as any costs involved, to make sure that the application is dealt with as quickly and as stress-free as possible.
Contact our team of local solicitors for Wills, here, or email wills@mglegal.co.uk.
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