“Solicitors liable to disappointed beneficiaries for negligent will drafting delays”
A testator instructed his solicitor to prepare a new will reinstating his daughters as beneficiaries after previously disinheriting them. The solicitor delayed in preparing the will and the testator died before it could be executed, leaving the daughters without their intended inheritance.
Whether a solicitor owes a duty of care to intended beneficiaries under a will when failing to carry out the testator's instructions with reasonable expedition
By a majority, the House of Lords held that a solicitor does owe a duty of care to intended beneficiaries and can be liable for their economic loss resulting from negligent delay
This case significantly expanded professional liability by establishing that solicitors' duties can extend beyond their immediate clients to foreseeable third parties in appropriate circumstances.
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