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Dee v Toomey 2007/1314P

On the 26^th August 2013 in the High Court, the Will of Mrs. Mary Coffey was challenged by her eighty year old brother, Mr. Joseph Dee.

Mrs. Coffey had an estate of €3.5 million and had left her brother a legacy in the sum of €45,000.00. Having made 99 legacies, the balance of the estate (amounting to approximately €2.8 million) was to be distributed by Mr. Pat Toomey, her sole Executor, to various charities.  

Mr. Dee challenged the Will by contending that Mrs. Coffey did not have the necessary mental capacity to make a Will and that it should not be valid. He also argued that she was easily influenced and that she did not receive proper advice. He felt that she would never have left him such a small legacy when she had so much to give. The state of mind (the mental capacity) that a person needs to make a Will is that he/she knows he/she is making a Will (a document that will dispose of the assets of the person making the Will), knows what he/she is leaving/bequesting (the nature and extent of the estate), and knows the people who would expect to receive a legacy and whether to give them a legacy or not. While the burden starts with the executor (who wants to uphold the will) to establish that the person making the Will had the necessary capacity to make a Will, where the Will is duly executed and appears rational on its face, then the court will presume capacity. The evidential burden shifts to the objector to raise a real doubt about capacity. To show that a person does not have this state of mind, the challenger must show that some medical condition existed that would have seriously affected the person’s judgment in making the Will.

Mr. Justice Kearns heard evidence from Mrs. Coffey’s solicitor, William Donovan, who he observed to be an experienced solicitor, (currently in practice with Holmes O’Malley Sexton). In his evidence, Mr. Donovan said Mrs. Coffey was in good form at the time the Will was made and that he formed the opinion that she was perfectly capable of making a Will. Evidence was also heard from Mrs. Coffey’s GP, Dr. James McMorrow, who said that she had never shown any signs of any mental problem. Mr. Justice Kearns acknowledged this evidence and also pointed out that Mrs. Coffey was very aware of the difficulties facing charities. He also admired he signature which he observed was very clear and remarkably good for a person aged 86 years at the time. He also acknowledged the correspondence that passed between Mrs. Coffey and Mr. Donovan and commented that she was very specific in her instructions.

Mr. Justice Kearns held that Mr. Dee’s challenge could not possibly succeed as it was clear to him from the evidence before him that Mrs. Coffey had known what she was doing when she made the Will and had thought about how much she wanted to give to people, including her brother.