Re the Will of Bridget

The case before the court was an application by the plaintiff, who is the attorney under an enduring power of attorney for the deceased, Bridget, seeking to have a will made on behalf of Bridget who lacked testamentary capacity. The defendants were Bridget's nephews who, in the absence of a valid will, would inherit her estate under the rules of intestacy. Bridget's only will had left her entire estate to her late husband. The plaintiff proposed a will that would leave the largest share of the estate to herself, with the remainder to be distributed among other cousins and charities. The defendants contested the application, arguing that Bridget's incapacitated state and their long period of no contact with her made it impossible to determine what she would likely have wanted in her will. The legal issues before the court were whether there were reasonable possibilities about what Bridget would have wanted in her will, and if the proposed will was reasonably likely to reflect those wishes.

The court considered the evidence and arguments presented by both parties, including the relationship between Bridget and the defendants, and the length of time since they had any contact. The court also examined the proposed will and the reasons for the distribution of the estate as proposed by the plaintiff. The court had to determine if there was a reasonably likely possibility that Bridget would have made the proposed will or a similar one, considering her circumstances and relationships. The court concluded that given the evidence, there were several possibilities regarding what Bridget would have wanted in her will, and that the proposed will was reasonably likely to reflect her wishes.

The court found that the proposed will was reasonably likely to reflect what Bridget would have wanted, and granted the plaintiff's application. The court ordered that a will be made on behalf of Bridget in accordance with the proposed will. The court also made orders regarding the costs of the application. The final orders of the court were that the plaintiff would be permitted to apply for, and then, an order authorising a will to be made on behalf of Bridget, with the contents of the will to be as proposed by the plaintiff. The defendants were ordered to pay the costs of the application.