Homemade Will written on cardboard boxes found to be valid by High Court

6 December 2024

3 min read

Will & Inheritance Disputes, Private Client & Estate Planning, Brabners Personal

The High Court recently found a Will written on the back of two cardboard food boxes to be valid — resulting in a charity inheriting £180,000 in place of the testator’s family members.

Malcolm Chenery passed away in 2021 after writing his Will — rather unconventionally — across a Young’s frozen fish box and a Mr Kipling’s mince pie box. His neighbours witnessed the signing of the second ‘page’.

Since the charity wanted to admit the food packaging to probate as Mr Chenery’s last Will, the Court had to consider whether it could form a single, valid Will.

If the Will wasn’t held to valid, the Court would consider Mr Chenery to have died intestate. Instead, his estate would have been inherited by his family members.

Here, Lauren Ainsworth and Beth Middleton from our Will and inheritance disputes team explore the issues around Will formalities and homemade Wills.

What are the formalities of a valid Will?

The formalities of what makes a Will valid are set out in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837:

A Will must be in writing and signed by the testator (the person making the Will) or by some other person in their presence and by their direction.
It must appear that the testator intended to give effect to the Will by their signature.
The signature must be acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses who were present at the same time.
Each witness must either attest and sign the Will or acknowledge the testator’s signature in the presence of the testator.

The Court’s decision

The main issue that the Court had to consider is whether or not the two pieces of cardboard formed one single document, such that Mr Chenery intended to give effect to it as his last Will. Since the witnesses hadn’t seen the first piece of cardboard when signing the Will, their evidence was limited.

It was argued by the charity’s barrister that the two pages were written with the same pen, which “seems to indicate they were made at the same time”. The gift to charity also had the support of family members and was in keeping with My Chenery’s wishes.

Having considered all the evidence, the High Court held that the Will was valid in accordance with requirements of the Wills Act 1837. It could therefore be admitted to probate as the last Will of Mr Chenery.

Homemade Wills

Although this recent High Court decision shows that the law provides for some flexibility when considering what gives effect to a valid Will, it does highlight that the formalities of the Wills Act 1837 that must be followed.

The law in this area is complex and disputes can often arise in circumstances where a person dies having left a homemade Will.

If you need to challenge or defend a challenge against a Will, our experienced solicitors can help. Talk to us by giving us a call on 0333 004 4488, sending us an email at hello@brabners.com or completing our contact form below.