Take Care When Making A Foreign Will

A recent case, Curati v Perdoni, 2012 EWCA Civ 1381, illustrates a particular problem that can arise when making a foreign will.

Facts

The testator in this case, Mr Curati, made two wills, English and Italian. The English will was executed first, in 1980, and dealt with Mr Curati's English assets which were left to his wife and, in substitution if she predeceased him, to his wife's nephew and niece. Mr Curati made a separate Italian will in 1994 naming his wife as his sole heir but with no provision as to what should happen if she predeceased him. The Italian will did not refer to the English will nor did it say whether it was intended to exist alongside or replace it.

Mr Curati's wife predeceased him and after Mr Cuarti died, a dispute arose as to which of the two wills was valid. The main question the court had to consider was whether the Italian will revoked the English one, in which case Mr Curati's sister would inherit his estate under the intestacy rules.