Legal challenge to Gore Vidal's Will

An interesting Will dispute has recently hit the headlines in America, involving the estate of celebrated writer Gore Vidal.

Vidal died last year at the age of 86. In the year before he died he apparently amended his Will to leave his entire estate, thought to be worth many millions of dollars, to Harvard University. This amendment had the effect of disinheriting his family, reports the Harvard Crimson newspaper.

Vidal did not attend Harvard as a student, but did lecture there occasionally during his career and reportedly held the university in very high esteem.

However the amendment is to be challenged in court by Vidal's half-sister, Nina Straight, who claims that her half-brother was not of sound mind when he made the change. According to reports, Vidal suffered from alcoholism and dementia in the latter stages of his life.

From a legal point of view, a person has to have 'capacity' to make or change a Will. This means that they must be able to appreciate and understand what a Will is and the effect it will have on both their property and family members.

If someone is found to have made a Will at a time when he lacked capacity, then the Will can be set aside. The difficulty is in proving the lack of capacity.

This is particularly true in cases of dementia, as sufferers often have lucid periods as well as periods of being mentally incapable.

Whilst a 'challenge-proof Will" is never possible to guarantee, at Szabo & Associates Solicitors we have strategies to assist Will makers and their loved ones, which will help to prevent spurious claims that a Will maker did not have capacity at the time they made their Will.

It is a complicated area, and expert advice is essential.

Contact us

If you are involved in a legal dispute over a Will, then contact Szabo & Associates Solicitors today. Contact us today on (02) 9281-5088 or fill in the contact form to the right of this page.