Smith v Oliver 1911 S.C. 103
Citation: Smith v Oliver 1911 S.C. 103
Rule of thumb: If a person promises to give you something when they die, or gift you money, but never write this in their will, is this valid? No, these promises have to be put in writing in the will to be valid.
Judgment:
The basic facts were that a wealthy woman orally promised to gift £7,000 to a church to help them pay for the construction of a new Church. However, she passed away just as the bill for building the Church was due. However, this promise was never made in writing to the Church and could not be confirmed under oath. This meant that the promise was not legally valid.
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