CJ: Be diligent when making wills for elderly
Source: Straits Times
Author: K.C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
WITH a rising number of elderly people and more suffering from mental conditions, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong has called on lawyers here to be more diligent when drawing up wills for the elderly.
The extra effort would pay off in minimising the number of inheritance spats coming to court.
His comments came in the wake of a clash between two sisters who took each other to court over their mother's estate, which included a half-share of a $13 million house in Holland Road.
Ms Caroline Chee, 48, and her elder sister Muriel, 54, had each produced a will by their late mother, Madam Goh Hun Keong, who died in 2004 at the age of 83.
The younger woman claimed that a will made in 1989 would leave her with almost the entire estate.
She argued that a later will, made in 1996, leaving her sister as the main beneficiary, could not stand as their mother was mentally unfit by then.
She won the case in the lower court, but Ms Muriel Chee appealed.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the lower court, which had ruled that Madam Goh, who suffered from dementia and depression in her later years and was on a cocktail of drugs, was incapable of making a will by 1996.
The court found the lawyer hired by Ms Muriel Chee - Madam May Oh, whose father was a cousin of Madam Goh's husband - had prepared the 1996 will without having spoken to Madam Goh about its contents.
All the instructions the lawyer took came from Ms Muriel Chee instead. Madam Oh neither explained the documents to Madam Goh, nor took attendance notes during two meetings with Madam Goh.
In the Appeal Court's judgment grounds published last week, CJ Chan said: 'The 1996 will was the product of their discussion on the terms, and not Madam Goh's intentions as Muriel had claimed.'
Lawyers need to take 'necessary precautions or steps' to fulfil their duties to clients when it comes to drawing up wills, he added.
In any case, a lawyer should be cautious about taking instructions from any person who is a beneficiary under the will.
The Chief Justice also spelt out the steps lawyers should take:
*If the testator is known to suffer from any mental infirmity, a doctor should be called in to certify her mental capacity before she is allowed to sign the will.
*With clients with mental conditions, like Madam Goh, lawyers should, among other things, have a medical officer assess their mental capacity.
*The lawyer should also ask if the testator is making a will for the first time and whether she knows she is revoking an existing will.
Added CJ Chan: 'These questions may be formulaic, but they are necessary to avoid cases such as these.'
vijayan@sph.com.sg
protecting the mentally infirm
the elderly - those aged 65 and above - make up 8.6% of the population now and this is expected to reach 12.9% in a decade.
the health ministry also estimates that 53,000 people here will be living with demantia by 2020, compared to 22,000 in 2005.
to thelp these people, the office of the public guardian (opg) was set up this year under the mental capacity act.
the act grants powers to the court to appoint trusted persons to make decisions for children with intellectual disabilities, or those already stricken with, say dementia or brain damage.
if such individuals are neglected or abused by their appointed caretakers, the opg will step in to investigate the situation.
k.c.vijayan
my comments:
on wills, the consumer is now more aware of the importance of making wills than say, some decades ago.
but i believe too many people have continued to put off making wills because of the factor of inertia or the belief that there is simply no urgency to doing so as the popular mindset is one of why do it today when i can do it tomorrow? |
