Save paper, use food packaging

This week, The Guardian reported a truly unique case in the world of wills and estates. Malcolm Chenery, who passed away in 2021, left behind a will that was written on the back of cardboard food packaging. This unconventional document has been deemed valid by the high court, leading to a charity inheriting a substantial £180,000.

Chenery’s estate, which included a three-bedroom house, jewellery, cash, and an extensive collection of ornaments and pottery, was left to Diabetes UK. However, because of the unusual way he expressed his last intentions, the organisation had to deal with a court battle over who would get the funds.

Chenery had written the will on two food packaging boxes: one holding Mr. Kipling’s mince pies and the other holding Young’s frozen fish.

The charity’s claim was contested because the informal will was dispersed among two different pieces of packing.

It was impossible to read the information on the fish fillets box—which stated that the house and its contents should be donated to the charity—as part of the same contract.

Despite the unconventional nature of the will, a high court judge made a decisive ruling. The judge determined that the unique document could indeed be brought into probate and was legitimate according to the 1837 Wills Act’s criteria.

IDR Partner Eleanor Stenson comments on this case;

“Although this story will have most firms angling for the right way to tackle a comment without the blatant use of a pun, you wont find us being so koi. This case is a great example of what steps need to be taken in the proving of an unconventionally drafted Will, even when the interested parties all appear to be in agreement. This adds to the costs and time involved in the process of obtaining a Grant, which most estate’s could do without.”