Can a solicitor who drew the will and attended to the execution of a will be able to establish that the testatrix fully appreciated the effect of what she was doing when she made the will?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Johnson v. Pelkey, 1997 CanLII 2935 (BC SC):
The court noted that the solicitor who drew the will and attended to its execution in Russell v. Baker was unable to establish that he had made the necessary inquiries to show that the testatrix fully appreciated the effect of what she was doing when she made her will.
Although Russell v. Baker involved a gift of residue, the principles in that case are applicable to the case at bar. The court emphasized that in order to affirmatively prove that the testatrix appreciated the effect of what she was doing, she had to be aware of the magnitude of the gift that she was making - whether the gift was small or large. A testator must not only "know and approve" of the clauses of the will as written, but appreciate the effect of the gifts.
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