Marley v Rawlings & Anor

Case [2014] UKSC 2

    Summary


    Hilary Term
    [2014] UKSC 2
    On appeal from: [2012] EWCA Civ 61

    JUDGMENT

    Marley (Appellant) v Rawlings and another (Respondents)
    before
    Lord Neuberger, President
    Lord Clarke
    Lord Sumption
    Lord Carnwath
    Lord Hodge
    JUDGMENT GIVEN ON

    22 January 2014

    Heard on 3 December 2013
    Appellant
    Robert Ham QC
    Teresa Rosen Peacocke
    (Instructed by Hugh Cartwright & Amin)    		   Respondents
    Nicholas Le Poidevin QC
    Alexander Learmonth
    (Instructed by Gillan & Co)

    See also: [2014] UKSC 51

    LORD NEUBERGER (with whom Lord Clarke, Lord Sumption and Lord Carnwath agree)
  1. A husband and wife each executed the will which had been prepared for the other owing to an oversight on the part of their solicitor; the question which arises is whether the will of the husband, who died after his wife, is valid.

    2. The factual and procedural background
    The factual background
  2. On 17 May 1999, Alfred Rawlings and his wife, Maureen Rawlings, were visited by their solicitor to enable them to execute the wills which he had drafted on their instructions. The wills were short and, except for the differences required to reflect the identity of the maker, they were in identical terms. Each spouse left his or her entire estate to the other, but, if the other had already died or survived the deceased spouse for less than a month, the entire estate was left to the appellant, Terry Marley, who was not related to them but whom they treated as their son.

  3. The will prepared for Mr Rawlings was in these terms:

    4. "This is the last will of me ALFRED THOMAS RAWLINGS of 15A Hillcrest Road Biggin Hill Kent TN16 3UA
    1. I REVOKE all former wills and testamentary dispositions.
    2. IF MY wife MAUREEN CATHERINE RAWLINGS … survives me by a period of one calendar month then I appoint her to be the sole Executrix of this my will and subject to my funeral and testamentary expenses fiscal impositions and all my just debts I leave to her my entire estate.
    3. IF MY said wife MAUREEN CATHERINE RAWLINGS fails to survive me by a period of one calendar month I appoint TERRY MICHAEL MARLEY … to be the sole Executor of this my will and subject to my funeral and testamentary expenses fiscal impositions and all my just debts I leave to him my entire estate.
    IN WITNESS whereof I the said ALFRED THOMAS RAWLINGS have hereunto set my hand the … day of … 1999: ….
    SIGNED by the testator in our presence and then by us in his:
    Signature, name, address … Signature, name, address … of attesting solicitor: of attesting secretary:
    ….. …..".
  4. The will prepared for Mrs Rawlings was in identical terms save that it was, of course, in her name instead of that of her husband, so that "ALFRED THOMAS RAWLINGS" was replaced by "MAUREEN CATHERINE RAWLINGS", and "my [said] wife MAUREEN CATHERINE RAWLINGS", "her", "his", and "testator" were respectively replaced by "my [said] husband ALFRED THOMAS RAWLINGS", "him", "her", and "testatrix".

  5. By an oversight…

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[2014] UKSC 2
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