Lam Wai Wing v Lam Tak Yuen [2024] HKCFI 987; HCAP 21/2020

Lam Wai Wing v Lam Tak Yuen [2024] HKCFI 987; HCAP 21/2020

Ronald and Linda successfully obtained an order to revoke a grant of letters of administration and propound a will in a recent probate action.

The deceased was suffering from brain cancer at the time of executing the will. One of the challenges to the will was that the Deceased’s execution of the Will was not video taped, or witnessed or approved by a medical practitioner in accordance with the "golden rule”. The court held that the mere non-compliance of the “golden rule” does not by itself demonstrate the invalidity of a will. Whether or not the proponent succeeds in propounding a will depends on the facts and evidence of the case. The Court reiterated that a will that is prepared by a solicitor and is, on the face of it, properly executed by a testator in front of the solicitor after having had the contents read over to him provides strong evidence of the testator’s knowledge and approval of the contents of the will and represents the testator’s intention at the moment he executes the will.

After assessing the evidence as a whole, the Court decided the proponent of the will has discharged the persuasive burden regarding the relevant fact in issue on the balance of probabilities and the will was found to be valid.

Full judgment is available here.

To learn more about Ronald and Linda, please visit here.

彭籽峰大律師及左兆雯大律師在最近一宗遺囑認證案件中代表原告人成功獲法庭判令撤銷被告人之遺產管理書及以嚴謹的方式認證遺囑。

本案死者在簽立遺囑時是腦癌病患者，被告人質疑為何沒有在死者簽署遺囑時，將過程錄影下來，或根據黃金法則 (golden rule) 安排執業醫生在滿意死者有訂立遺囑的能力及能理解遺囑的內容後，見證她的簽署；法庭認為即使沒有依據上述黃金法則，亦不一定意味提呈遺囑者不能成功證明立遺囑人的訂立遺囑能力或理解遺囑內容，一切皆視乎案件的實際情況。法庭強調若遺囑是由獨立的律師所準備 ，而律師在立遺囑人簽署前，已向其宣讀及解釋遺囑的内容，並對立遺囑人對遺囑的了解程度感到滿意 ，這亦是立遺囑人具有訂立遺囑能力的重要指標。

最終法庭在考慮所有證據後，裁定提呈遺囑者能夠按相對可能性的衡量標準成功完成其說服式的舉證責任，並判定遺囑有效。

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