The will of the late poet and author John O’Donohue has been declared void by the High Court due to uncertainty of its terms and meaning.
In his will, Dr O’Donohue stated he was leaving “all my worldly possessions” to his mother Josie “to be divided equally and fairly among my family with special care and extra help” to be given to his sister Mary.
...The judge concluded he was “unable to decipher the exact meaning” of the will and said Dr O’Donohue had “unfortunately provided an illustration of exactly how a person should not make a will”.
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he had also unwittingly made “the classic error” of having two intended beneficiaries of the will - his mother and brother Patrick - witness his signature with the effect of depriving both from benefitting as the law provides a witness to a will cannot be a beneficiary.
