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ARTICLE · 05 AUGUST 2015

Judge Holds Handwritten Diary Note Is A Valid Will

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The Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders has found that a signed holograph entry by a deceased into a notebook diary is a valid Will.

United KingdomFamily and Matrimonial
Paul Hewitt
Paul Hewitt
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The Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders has found that a signed holograph entry by a deceased into a notebook diary is a valid Will. The Sheriff Principal overturned the judgment of the Sheriff who had refused the deceased's sister's petition to be confirmed as executor of her sister's Will.

The deceased was one of six siblings and was divorced, with no children. She was recognised to be an alcoholic, but there was no evidence to suggest that she lacked capacity. An entry in her notebook diary some months before her death in 2012 had held that all her "wealthy remains" were to be left to one of her sisters, who she then clearly referenced by name. She had finished the entry with the words 'IT IS MY WISH' and her signature.

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