Proving Capacity Challenges: What the Court Wants to See

Banks v Goodfellow remains the test for testamentary capacity, and the golden rule remains guidance rather than law.

In practice, cases are decided on GP and hospital records, the drafting solicitor's file, and the evidence of those who saw the testator around the date of execution.

Expert evidence is retrospective and therefore vulnerable. It supports the contemporaneous record; it does not replace it.