Law firm “let down” client over bid to propound will, master rules – Legal Futures

Posted January 31st, 2024 in delay, law firms, news, probate, wills by tracey

‘A daughter seeking to propound a copy of her deceased mother’s will has been “let down” by her solicitors in failing to comply with an unless order to issue proceedings, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 31st January 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Delays at Probate Service starting to ease, says minister – Legal Futures

Posted January 12th, 2024 in delay, government departments, HM Courts Service, news, probate, statistics by sally

‘Delays at the Probate Service are shortening in the wake of a “distinct improvement in recruitment, competency, productivity and call handling”, the government said this week.’

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Legal Futures, 12th January 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Good practices in probate litigation – Bowser v Smith [2023] EWCA Civ 923 – New Square Chambers

Posted November 16th, 2023 in appeals, chambers articles, news, probate by sally

‘In this article, JJ Liew examines the case of Bowser v Smith, with a focus on the Court of Appeal’s discussion of the conduct expected of the parties in the handling of contentious probate litigation.’

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New Square Chambers, 3rd October 2023

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Lumb v Lumb: fitting together the costs rules in probate disputes with the general ethos of the CPR – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted November 8th, 2023 in chambers articles, civil procedure rules, costs, news, probate by sally

‘Lumb v Lumb [2023] EWHC 2052 (Ch) was an appeal on costs which sheds interesting light on how general rules of the CPR fit together with special provisions governing probate disputes. On a related note, it offers a case study of how the modern ethos of deterring dubious litigation can interact with legal principles of an earlier vintage. There were various other points of interest in the case, but I focus here on this theme.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 30th October 2023

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Online probate process “taking longer than paper” – Legal Futures

Posted October 18th, 2023 in damages, families, internet, Law Society, news, probate, solicitors by sally

‘A majority of private client lawyers believe the new online probate process is taking longer than the old paper-based system, a survey by the Law Society has found.’

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Legal Futures, 18th October 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

CMA investigates online divorce, will-writing and other legal services – Family Law

Posted August 8th, 2023 in consumer protection, divorce, legal services, news, probate, wills by tracey

‘The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is keen to hear about people’s experiences with firms offering these services, over concerns that not all are complying with consumer protection law.’

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Family Law, 7th August 2023

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Firm ordered to pay wasted costs for “inexplicable” error – Legal Futures

Posted April 21st, 2023 in abuse of process, costs, hospitals, law firms, negligence, news, probate, wills by tracey

‘A law firm which started proceedings when its client did not have standing to bring them has been ordered to pay wasted costs because it failed to check this.’

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Legal Futures, 21st April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

When undue influence and mutual wills collide: Naidoo v Barton [2023] EWHC 500 (Ch) – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted April 12th, 2023 in chambers articles, fraud, news, probate, theft, undue influence, wills by sally

‘Naidoo v Barton [2023] EWHC 500 (Ch) clarifies an important, and hitherto unresolved, issue concerning the doctrine of mutual wills. The court determined that it is the Etridge test for undue influence, applicable to challenging life time transactions, that applies when considering whether or not a mutual wills agreement should be set aside and not the more stringent probate test that generally applies where a will is challenged on the grounds of undue influence.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 12th March 2023

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Will disputes – Mills & Reeve

Posted January 17th, 2023 in executors, news, powers of attorney, probate, wills by sally

‘It’s becoming more and more common to see disputes over inheritance. In 2019, 188 cases of challenging Wills reached the High Court, a dramatic increase of 47% from cases in 2018. In fact, it is now estimated that 3 in 4 people are likely to encounter such a dispute within their lifetimes. It is more important than ever therefore to be aware of the grounds upon which a Will may be challenged.’

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Mills & Reeve, 16th January 2023

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Proving Missing Wills: Cooper and Anor v Chapman and Anor – St John’s Buildings

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in chambers articles, news, probate, wills by sally

‘In Re the estate of Cooper, deceased (probate); Cooper (a child, by her litigation friend) and another v Chapman and others [2022] EWHC 1000 (Ch), a draft will found on the Deceased’s computer after his death could be admitted to probate as his last will in circumstances where the executed will could not be located, and the fact that it could not be located did not mean that it should be presumed to have been revoked by the Deceased.’

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St John's Buildings, May 2022

Source: stjohnsbuildings.com

Testamentary Capacity: Hughes v Pritchard in the Court of Appeal – St John’s Buildings

Posted April 8th, 2022 in appeals, chambers articles, evidence, expert witnesses, families, news, probate, wills by sally

‘In Hughes v Pritchard and others [2022] EWCA Civ 386, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the trial judge in a probate claim (see Hughes v Pritchard and others [2021] EWHC 1580 (Ch)) that a testator lacked testamentary capacity, concluding that the judge’s findings on that subject were “not open to him on the evidence”.’

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St John's Buildings, 4th April 2022

Source: stjohnsbuildings.com

Judge excoriates “reckless and quite possibly dishonest” solicitor – Legal Futures

Posted February 1st, 2022 in news, probate, solicitors, undue influence, wills by sally

‘The way a solicitor went about preparing a £100m will was “reckless and quite possibly dishonest”, the High Court ruled yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 1st February 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Raab eyes “drastic action” to keep family disputes out of court – Legal Futures

‘Justice secretary Dominic Raab is “in the market for something quite drastic and bold” to reduce the number of private law family cases in the courts, he said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 1st December 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Why can’t we read Prince Philip’s Will? – Transparency Project

Posted September 27th, 2021 in executors, news, probate, royal family, wills by sally

‘The Royal Family in modern times live very public lives. Core members seem to have been bred in captivity, like exotic fish in an open aquarium, some of whose waters are murkier than others, but almost all of which will sooner or later be publicly visible.’

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Transparency Project, 26th September 2021

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

High Court rejects claim that ‘stern’ judge was hostile towards LiPs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 19th, 2021 in appeals, bias, judges, litigants in person, news, probate, retrials by tracey

‘The High Court has thrown out the suggestion that a judge was biased against three litigants in person, saying the deputy master was stern and showed signs of impatience but handled the case in a “fair and open-minded way.”‘

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th April 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Remote hearing “did not stop witness admitting he had lied” – Litigation Futures

Posted March 30th, 2021 in coronavirus, deceit, news, probate, remote hearings, wills, witnesses by tracey

‘Holding a trial over the validity of a will remotely may have helped a witness admit that the contents of his affidavit were not true, the High Court has suggested.’

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Litigation Futures, 30th March 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Contentious Wills & Probate Part III – Parklane Plowden Chambers

Posted February 19th, 2021 in chambers articles, forfeiture, news, probate, wills by sally

‘Last year there were two reported decisions in respect of the forfeiture rule. These are worth mention given the rarity of reported cases in this area.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 17th February 2021

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Contentious Wills & Probate Case Law Roundup 2020: Part II – Parklane Plowden Chambers

Posted February 19th, 2021 in chambers articles, news, probate, wills by sally

‘Two validity cases in particular stood out last year and both turned on whether or not a testator suffered from “insane delusions” rendering their wills invalid. There are fewer reported cases giving guidance on this strand of the Banks v Goodfellow test (most cases I deal with revolve around old age psychiatry) so these recent cases are worth some scrutiny.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 12th February 2021

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Remote Witnessing of Wills During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Parklane Plowden

Posted December 7th, 2020 in chambers articles, coronavirus, fraud, news, probate, undue influence, wills by sally

‘There has unsurprisingly been an uprise in the number of people making wills since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, though social distancing measures have created problems for people in terms of complying with the witnessing requirements of section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 (“the Wills Act”).’

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Parklane Plowden, 10th November 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Court: “No need for City lawyer” in professional executor tussle – Legal Futures

Posted November 4th, 2020 in budgets, costs, executors, fees, news, probate, wills by tracey

‘The High Court has ruled that there was no need for a more expensive City lawyer to be appointed a professional executor in preference to one from the Home Counties in a straightforward probate.’

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Legal Futures, 4th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk