There are some common scenarios where a practitioner will be asked to check the validity of a Will after the testator’s death: often when instructed by the executors to prepare the application for probate and act in the estate administration, when acting for an individual who may seek to challenge the validity of the Will or when acting for a beneficiary who simply seeks confirmation as to the Will’s effect (assuming they have access to a copy). Even where the client’s instructions do not relate specifically to the validity of the Will, the practitioner should always check the Will’s validity at the outset of an estate administration.

To check if a Will is valid, the practitioner needs to look at the following elements:

1. •

   physical state of the Will

2. •

   formalities set out in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837

3. •

   contents of the Will and construction of the Will clauses where there is ambiguous or missing wording

4. •

   testamentary capacity, knowledge and approval and lack of undue influence

5. •

   any