Re Bravda
Beneficiaries who signed a will as additional witnesses lost their gifts under section 15 of the Wills Act 1837, a harsh result which led Parliament to change the law.
Facts
Mr Bravda made a home made will leaving his property to his two daughters. The will was signed by two independent witnesses, and also by his two daughters, apparently because he wanted to make sure the will was valid. Under section 15 of the Wills Act 1837, a gift to a person who witnesses the will is void. The daughters argued that their signatures were not intended to be signatures as witnesses, because the will was already validly witnessed by the two independent witnesses.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal held, by a majority and with reluctance, that the daughters had signed as witnesses, so the gifts to them were void under section 15. The court said that the words of the section were clear, and that the daughters' signatures appeared in the place for witnesses, so it could not be said that they had signed in some other capacity. The court recognised that the result was harsh and defeated the testator's intentions. Parliament responded by passing the Wills Act 1968, which provides that the signature of a beneficiary as witness is to be disregarded if the will is duly executed without it.
Related cases on formalities, execution, undue influence and rectification
- Barrett v Bem [2012] EWCA Civ 52, [2012] Ch 573
- Re Colling [1972] 1 WLR 1440
- Hall v Hall (1868) LR 1 P & D 481
- Marley v Rawlings [2014] UKSC 2, [2015] AC 129
- Wingrove v Wingrove (1885) 11 PD 81
- Wood v Smith [1993] Ch 90
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