Oldies

Right road, wrong turn

Wills and old age are a combustible mixture. And "old" varies from individual to individual.

in Australia in November 2009, a man with 'slight dementia' drove to his local shops, took a wrong turn, got lost and continued driving. He clocked up 370 miles before seeking help.

He was 81 years old. However, mental confusion - even total mental incapacity - occasionally affects younger people, usually through accidents or disease.

And old age needn't mean impaired mental functioning.

British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) reached 98 with his marbles intact.

American philanthropist Brooke Astor - of the Astors that include Britain's first woman MP, Lady Astor - also reached her late nineties with full mental capacity.

As this hapless car driver illustrates, a bit of confusion can have dire consequences. In addition to the unpleasantness of the confused state itself, elderly people are at further risk from the consequences of that confusion: relatives, friends or advisers may take advantage of that confusion.

Brooke Astor may have been mentally sound at 95 but she lived to 105. And in her final five to seven years, she developed Alzheimer's Disease. One of her delusions was to think that her butler was her late husband.

Any will or codicil she made during this period would have been a document looking for a legal challenge unless it were made in circumstances in which she was certifiably of sound mind.

In fact, Brooke Astor changed her will twice during this period of mental confusion - and she did so apparently under duress, manipulated by her son and a lawyer.

Undue pressure was less likely to have been attempted with Brooke Astor when she was younger; if it had been attempted, she would have had the strength and clarity of mind to thwart it.

This page should be read along with mental capacity and cases.

 

Many elderly people become serial will-writers in old age. There is no law against it, but the older you are when you make or amend your will, the greater the likelihood of a costly court challenge - especially if the new will seriously disappoints relatives or friends.

In Brooke Astor's case, the codicils led to criminal charges, and her 83-year-old son and one of her lawyers were convicted of, and sentenced to jail for, fraud.

Even if no criminality is involved, civil court proceedings are costly, win or lose.

Mental impairment occurs at all ages - and for various reasons. In the popular imagination, the typical cause is simple senile dementia. But many other causes - not least, car and motorcycle accidents and cancer and other ailments affecting the brain - lead to cognitive breakdown. One day you may be capable of writing a new, or revising an old, will. The next day you are not. And because it might happen to you - and the odds increase with every passing day - the more reason you have for doing it now.

Teresa's Tale...

After her husband died, Teresa Testatrix (not her real name) made a new will leaving everything to her two children. As she became older and infirm, her children cared for her. The nice Jones couple in the house next door also helped Teresa.

After Teresa died, a new will surfaced. It left everything to the - surprise, surprise - neighbours. Teresa's own children and grandchildren were excluded.

Did this really happen? Yes and No. No - I made it up. Yes - this kind of thing happens frequently.

...and the truth, and nothing but the truth

What really happened behind Teresa's net curtains when her new will was made? Teresa may have deliberately, and in full command of her senses, decided to leave everything to the Joneses.

It is also possible that the neighbours manipulated a vulnerable Teresa, even forged her will.

Neighbours come with the territory, wherever we live. That territory may or may not contain our own children. Or one child may live close to mum and dad, but another lives elsewhere in the country and a third lives in Spain or Canada or Australia or America. When mum starts to decline, one child may be better placed to offer care than the others. And mum's will may reflect those differences. In our modern world, the potential for familial conflict is vast and varied.