The Banks -v- Goodfellow Test The classic exposition of the degree of mental competence required to make a Will in English law is contained in Banks v Goodfellow (1870). As to the testator’s capacity, he must, in the language of the law, have a sound and disposing mind and memory. In other words, he ought to be capable of making his Will with an understanding of the nature of the business in which he is engaged, a recollection of the property he means to dispose of, and of the persons who are the object of his bounty, and the manner in which it is to be distributed between them. Questions for the Instruction Taker: