Son successfully challenges his mother’s Will in claim over £700,000 estate

In a case widely reported in the media in March 2025, John Baverstock pursued a claim against his sister Lisa Baverstock on the basis of video evidence produced by Lisa herself which showed Lisa placing  a pen in their mother’s hand before guiding her hand to sign a Will (drafted by Lisa) with the effect that John stood to inherit nothing from their mother’s estate and Lisa to inherit the entire £700,000 estate.

At the time that this Will was signed in March 2021, John and Lisa’s mother was terminally ill, could “barely flicker an eyelid” and was suffering from advanced dementia and arthritis before dying just eight days later.

Ultimately, the Court ruled that the will was not properly executed, that Mrs Baverstock lacked testamentary capacity at the time the Will was written and was unable to understand or approve the contents of the Will. We touched upon testamentary capacity in the previous article. In a nutshell, ‘want of knowledge and approval’ means that the person signing the Will did not understand or approve of the contents of the document they signed. This is very important as for a Will to be valid it must be shown that the testator knew, understood, and approved of its contents. If there’s a reasonable doubt about this, the Will can be challenged.

Where a Will is held to be invalid it is as though it never existed and so a previous Will may then apply. However, in this case, as there was no other Will in existence then the rules of intestacy are to apply and so John and Lisa will now split their mother’s estate equally – albeit with Lisa to pay for John’s costs incurred in bringing his claim.

At Cartmell Shepherd, our dedicated Wills and Inheritance Disputes Team focuses on delivering practical, balanced and thoughtful solutions. We combine empathy with expert legal insight to navigate sensitive matters effectively. Whether you need support challenging a Will or a Will revocation, or defending such a claim, our team offers the experienced guidance and advice necessary for achieving the best possible outcome.

If you are facing similar issues regarding Will or Inheritance Disputes, please contact Selina on 01228 516666 or click here to send her an email.