A will written on the back of cardboard food packaging has been upheld as valid by the High Court, allowing Diabetes UK to inherit an estate worth £180,000, as reported by The Guardian.
Malcolm Chenery, who died in 2021, left his assets – comprising a three-bedroom house, jewellery, cash, and an extensive collection of ornaments and pottery – to the charity. However, the unorthodox manner in which Chenery expressed his final wishes sparked a legal challenge over the validity of the will.
Chenery wrote his will on two pieces of food packaging: a box from Young’s frozen fish fillets and another from Mr Kipling mince pies. The fish box specified that the house and its contents were to go to the charity. The challenge arose because the will was spread across two separate pieces of cardboard, raising questions about whether the documents could be treated as a single, cohesive will.
The High Court judge ruled that the unconventional will met the legal requirements of the 1837 Wills Act and could be entered into probate.
Chenery, who took his own life, wrote the will shortly before his death. While neighbours had witnessed only the signing of the second page, the barrister representing Diabetes UK, Sam Chandler, argued that the two pieces of packaging were created simultaneously and formed a coherent document.
Chandler emphasised that intestacy would undermine Chenery’s clear intentions, particularly given the family’s acknowledgment of the deceased’s wishes and the connection to diabetes in the family.
Judge Katherine McQuail agreed with the arguments, concluding that it was presumed Chenery “had not intended to die intestate” and ruled that the documents constituted a valid will.
