Farmer's Will Sows Discord Among Brothers and Sisters

People are increasingly facing endless cases concerning farm-related wills. Recently there has been another case of the Key family. The elderly wife and husband passed away one after the other within the two-year period. They had four children, two daughters and two sons. Under Mr Key’s first will in 2001, his estate was to be left to his wife for life and then to be shared between the sons. After a few years he decided to split the farm allowing his sons to run business separately.
The daughters returned home when their mother died. She died about two years earlier than Mr Key. One of the daughters took him to a solicitor. The estate had been again divided unequally in favour of the daughters.
The sons successfully disputed the validity of the will referring to Mr Key’s being prone to deep depression and questioning his testamentary capacity. The solicitor was also criticised by the judge for not having involved a health professional before preparing a will an older person. In general, it is recommended to assess testamentary capacity in elderly people. This can help resolve disputes and avoid problems. However practicing doctors know how difficult it may be to follow this rule. There may be a lot of uncertainty in situations like this.