Valerie May Olga Sim v Kate Ellen Elizabeth Pimlott & Ors
[2023] EWHC 2296 (Ch)
MARGARET GARBUTT v TIMOTHY ROBSON GARBUTT
11 May 2023
[2023] EWHC 1053 (Ch)
High Court
A husband died, leaving a will and a debt owed to his wife. The court decided the wife gets the money she was owed and a right to live in the house for the rest of her life. Because the will was poorly written, the wife also inherits the rest of the husband's money after his death.
Key Facts
- •Margaret Garbutt (Claimant) and James Garbutt had a long-term relationship, culminating in marriage in 2008.
- •James Garbutt died in 2020, leaving a will bequeathing his share of their jointly owned property to Margaret for life, with remainder to his children.
- •A mortgage secured on the property in favour of Margaret remained outstanding.
- •Margaret brought a claim against James's children, seeking to establish the validity of the mortgage and the proper construction of the will.
- •A Tomlin order settled the claim with two of the children, leaving Timothy as the sole defendant.
- •The property is to be sold for around £295,000.
Legal Principles
Will construction aims to ascertain the testator's intention from the will's wording and admissible evidence.
Theobald on Wills (19th ed)
The court cautiously supplies omitted words in a will only if the omission and substance are clear from the will's wording.
Theobald on Wills (19th ed)
No evidence can complete an incomplete will, add to, vary, or contradict its terms, or prove testamentary intentions not in the will.
Williams on Wills (11th ed)
Presumption against intestacy only operates if the will contains words implying a gift of residue.
Williams on Wills (11th ed)
In determining a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, the court considers the deceased's estate and the claimant's financial needs.
Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
A mortgage can be informally ended if the mortgagee intended its termination, demonstrated by actions altering the debtor's position.
Fisher & Lightwood’s Law of Mortgage (15th ed)
Outcomes
The mortgage is valid and effective.
The mortgage remains registered, the loan is unpaid, and there's no evidence of Margaret intending to release it. Timothy's arguments lacked merit.
Clause 4 of the will gives Margaret a life interest in James's half share of the property.
The will's wording, including provisions for income payments and the remainder interest vesting upon Margaret's death, supports this interpretation.
There is partial intestacy of James's residuary estate.
The will does not contain words disposing of the residuary estate, despite Timothy's arguments.
The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claim is not determined.
Given the other findings, the court stated it did not need to consider the 1975 Act claim.