Will corrected by Court due to typographical error…

A recent case has seen the High Court amend a Will that included a provision that was contrary to the intention of the Will-maker. 

When the deceased passed away, it was his intention to give the use and interest of his investment portfolio to his wife, and then upon her death to give any balance of the investment portfolio to his former school. 

The original clause in the Will contained an error that the investment portfolio would go to the man’s wife to have unrestricted access to the income and capital for the duration of her life, and balance outstanding at the date of the deceased’s death (through the use of the word “my”) should be given to the deceased’s former school. 

The correct wording of the Will should have been the word “May’s” (being the wife’s name) rather than the word “my”. 

The school provided their written consent for the Will to be corrected and on that basis the Court was able to amend the Will to uphold the Will-maker’s intention.

It is very important that when drafting a Will a Will-maker reviews every clause carefully to ensure that there are no mistakes that may lead to a request or gift not being able to be implemented.

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