Ginger v Mickleburgh is a recent High Court case about a Will that was thrown out because the person who made it lacked the mental capacity to do so. Michael Gwilliam signed a Will in 2014 that cut his four daughters’ inheritance in favour of his sister, her son and his companion. The court found he had dementia and a genuine but false belief that his daughters were plotting to have him sectioned and take his farm — an “insane delusion” under the classic test from Banks v Goodfellow (1869). The Will was declared invalid, and because there was no earlier valid Will, Michael was treated as having died intestate: his estate passed to his four daughters under the standard intestacy rules.
The case is a reminder of why a proper capacity check, taken privately and recorded in writing, matters so much — especially when a Will looks unusual or a person’s health is in question. Done well, this process protects everyone for decades.