The Contradiction Engine · For lawyers · Free

A will, or a plan to make one?

The situation

You advise Mara, the niece of Edwin Pike, who died last month. Edwin left no signed will. Three weeks before he died, he typed this on his tablet: ‘Everything I own goes to Mara. Sign tomorrow with Joe and Anna.’ He did not sign anything.

Edwin’s two sons, who would inherit equally if there is no will, say the note is only a plan. Mara asks whether she can claim under it.

The rules

Rule A (Wills Act 2012, s.5). A will must be in writing, signed by the person making it, and witnessed by two witnesses present at the same time.
Rule B (s.9). A court may treat a document that does not comply with section 5 as a will if it is satisfied, on evidence, that the person intended the document to be their will.
Rule C (s.10). The person relying on such a document must prove that intention. A draft, or a note of what the person plans to do later, is not by itself enough.

Your task

Advise Mara whether she can claim under the tablet note.

Everything you need is on this page: no outside law and no tools. All places, statutes and people are fictional (the Republic of Eastmark). More than one answer may be defensible: what matters is that your reasoning follows the rules shown.

Step 1 · What kind of conflict is this?

The conflict disappears once the rules are read together properly.A real conflict that the law tells the decision-maker to resolve by weighing.A real conflict that the law does not resolve: reasonable lawyers could differ.No real conflict: the two rules govern different things.

Professional skills training with fictional material. It is not legal advice and is not accredited by any court, regulator or professional body.