Gifts to a friend in separate wills while both spouses are still alive

[Shantelle]

Both spouses have separate wills. Both are still married and living under the same roof of their owned property then her husband was sent to a care home.

The wife decided to write a letter witnessed by her brother to give 5000 pounds to a friend.

She never consulted her husband who was in a care home, the husband had nobody named as a power of attorney as he still had his mental faculties.
She has no money in her bank account either. In other words this money is to be taken from her will when the property sells when she dies as she is dying now.
Is this document (letter) valid and legal? Should her husband not have had a say in the matter or to co-sign this document as he was still alive at the time she wrote it?
Should this have been addressed to her sollicitor?
Now that her spouse died a couple of days ago, all is hers however there is a will for 2 inheritors when she dies, will they have to give the sum of 5000 pounds to the friend?

[echat11]

Hi SHANTELLE

des8 Can you take a look and advise, many thanks.

[des8]

Not sure what the current position is, but will work on the assumption that the widow has inherited her late husbands estate.
I understand she has a will which leaves her estate split between two beneficiaries.

A letter written by her, and witnessed by one person, giving a sum of money from her estate after she has passed away will likely have no standing in law.
Amendments to wills are made by writing a codicil, properly drawn up and the testator's signature witnessed by two people.

I don't see how she can make a gift of something she doesn't have.
What she is doing is making a promise of a gift which is effectively conditional upon her death, and I doubt the would be recipient could make a successful claim for its payment.

If she wants to gift this money to her friend on her passing, she needs either to execute a proper codicil, or preferably write a new will