Research shows that the average family has no less than five arguments on Christmas Day.
The fragile Christmas period can lead to individuals making new year arrangements to amend their Wills and often exclude family members altogether. Legal experts say that January tends to be the most popular time for these dramatic changes as tensions rise throughout the year and peak to the surface among the stress of Christmas. Although some individuals may have had time over the Christmas period to cool off before making these drastic changes, many take sudden and irrational steps which can lead to Wills being challenged upon death and overruled by the court if it is shown to be unreasonable.
Janine Inger of Prestige Legal Services says “we have found a rise in the amount of Testators excluding family members from their Wills to protect money and assets from their children or even their spouse after the Christmas break.”
We strongly recommend that when excluding a person from a Will, there are legitimate reasons for doing so which can be written into an exclusion statement and to consider the lasting consequences that such an exclusion can have.