Conditions not to Dispute Wills and the Inheritance (Provisions for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

In this article, the author reviews the recent decision of the HighCourt in In the Estate of Nathan Deceased [2002] N.P.C. 79, TheTimes 6/4/02, relating to the validity and effect off conditionsnot to dispute wills (i.e., gifts by will on condition that thebeneficiary does not seek to challenge the will) and how such conditionsaffect claims made under the Inheritance (Provision for Family andDependants) Act 1975. The decision in this case reveals a considerabletension between the principle of testamentary freedom and the aims andoperation of public policy in this area of the law. In the article, theauthor maps out the changes which will have to be made in statements ofthe law in leading text-books relating to conditions not to disputewills and further argues that certain dicta in the case suggest that theHigh Court has now gone too far in preferring testamentary freedom overpublic policy, opening a door which may yet permit the triumph ofconstructive fraud in some cases.