Where a testator is illiterate and suffering from dementia, the will must be read over or its terms explained to the testator at execution, and the instructions must be unequivocal, for the propounder to discharge the onus of proving knowledge and approval. Instructions obtained primarily through a solicitor suggesting provisions and the testator responding with affirmative nods and gestures are not unequivocal instructions. The size of a small estate is a relevant consideration favouring standard rather than indemnity costs in probate litigation.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 4 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.