Banks V. Goodfellow (1870)
Definition
English common-law case establishing the four-element test for testamentary capacity: the testator must understand the nature of making a will, the extent of their property, the claims of potential beneficiaries, and must not suffer from a delusion that affects the testamentary disposition.
- Field
- Civil forensic psychiatry, testamentary capacity
- Jurisdiction
- English common law
- Test elements
- Nature of act, extent of property, claims of beneficiaries, no disqualifying delusion
Common questions
Why is this 1870 case still cited in modern testamentary capacity assessments?+
The four-element test it established remains the foundational common-law standard applied, directly or with local statutory modification, across many common-law jurisdictions when a forensic evaluator or court needs to assess whether a testator understood what they were doing when they made a will, and no later case has fully displaced it as the baseline framework.
How does the delusion element differ from simply having a mental illness?+
The test does not disqualify a testator merely for having a delusion or a psychiatric diagnosis; it specifically requires that the delusion affect the particular testamentary disposition being made, so a person can be delusional about an unrelated matter and still have full testamentary capacity as long as that delusion did not influence the specific bequests in the will.
What is the practical difference between the property element and the beneficiaries element of the test?+
The property element asks whether the testator had a general understanding of the extent of their assets, while the beneficiaries element separately asks whether they were able to comprehend and weigh the claims of people who might reasonably expect to benefit, such as close family, so an evaluator can find one element satisfied and the other in doubt within the same assessment.
Related terms
- Functional Capacity Assessment
- Assessment of capacity in relation to a specific decision, at a specific time, requiring evaluation of whether the person can understand, retain,...
- Golden Rule (Probate)
- English probate practice guidance from Kenward v. Adams (1975) requiring solicitors taking instructions from an elderly or seriously ill testator to arrange...
- Hindu Marriage Act 1955 § 12
- Provision making a marriage voidable (rather than void) where the consent of a party was not free consent because of unsoundness of...
- Indian Contract Act 1872 § 11-12
- Provisions establishing that sound mind for contracting requires capacity to understand the contract and form a rational judgement as to its effect;...
- Insane Delusion
- Under the Banks test, a false belief from which the testator cannot be argued, which causes them to dispose of their property...
- MacCAT-T
- MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Treatment; a structured instrument assessing capacity to consent to medical treatment using four domains: understanding, appreciation, reasoning, and expressing...
- Mental Capacity Act 2005 (England and Wales)
- Statute governing capacity for consent to treatment and other decisions (not testamentary capacity). Requires a person to understand, retain, weigh, and communicate...