Guard your will from an easy mark
- Sharing a scenario of a will being destroyed to avoid having to share an inheritance
- Recommending keeping your will safe – in the hands of someone you trust who wouldn’t benefit from its disappearance
Might someone destroy a will to increase their inheritance?
The possibility hadn’t occurred to me until I was consulted about that exact scenario.
James (not their real name) shared the story of how he had developed a friendship with Doris, who had hired James to provide dog-walking services for her beloved Yorkie named Huggles.
As Doris’s health declined, she shared her concern about what would happen to Huggles if the dog outlived her. James reassured her that he would give Huggles a loving home.
Doris decided to leave James a financial gift in her will, to thank him for his kindness and cover his out-of-pocket expenses caring for Huggles. She told James that she updated her will, leaving him a bequest of $150,000.00. She mentioned that she kept her updated will in her home.
Six months later Doris passed away.
James welcomed Huggles into his home, which he had offered to do regardless of a gift from Doris. But he did look forward to the kind financial gift.
After several months had passed without hearing a word about the gift, James asked Doris’ daughter Alicia about it. Alicia, who had cleaned out the home, claimed that the only will she found was dated five years before Doris’ death and named her as the sole beneficiary.
How convenient.
James suspects that Alicia destroyed the new will to avoid having to share $150,000.00 of her inheritance with him.
I share his suspicion.
Doris might have lied to James about the gift, but that doesn’t make any sense. James had already committed to look after Huggles after her death.
It’s also possible that she changed her mind and destroyed her own updated will. Or somehow lost it.
But I think the most likely answer is that Alicia got greedy.
The difficulty is proving it.
One huge strike against James is a legal presumption that assumes a testator has intentionally destroyed their will if they’ve held onto it and it cannot be found.
This presumption arises because people are generally expected to keep such important documents safe.
That presumption isn’t written in stone. It can be rebutted. But the only evidence the will ever existed is what Doris told James – the flimsiest of evidence.
Sometimes, a will has no impact on how an estate will be divided. This would be the case if the beneficiary terms of a will are identical to how an estate would be divided even if there was no will.
An example is a single parent with children who wants their children to share equally in their estate. That’s going to be the result with or without a will because of the intestacy laws (laws about what happens if there’s no will) in British Columbia.
Another example is a married person without children who wants their spouse to inherit their entire estate.
But if the beneficiary terms of your will are different from the intestacy results, someone will benefit by destroying it.
You can guard against this possibility by storing your original will with someone you trust who won’t benefit from its disappearance. A common choice is with a lawyer.
Has someone told you that they’ve left you a gift in their will? Maybe send them a copy of this column and ask about where they’re storing their will!
