‘A woman who obtained a grant of letters of administration and then used a firm of licensed conveyancers to defend herself against a claim from other potential beneficiaries, has been told by the High Court that she has to pay back to the estate nearly £87,000 given to the firm that has been lost.’
Legal Futures, 26th August 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Resolving neighbour disputes using iPhone evidence and a video hearing might be more effective than the parties travelling several miles to court, a senior government official has said, outlining significant developments to modernise the justice system.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 21st July 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A divorced husband has been given permission to challenge the validity of his ex mother-in-law’s will.’
Legal Futures, 12th July 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘In Randall v Randall [2016] EWCA Civ 494, the Court of Appeal considered whether a creditor of a beneficiary of an estate had sufficient standing to bring a probate claim to challenge the validity of a purported will of the testatrix.’
Tanfield Chambers, 22nd June 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘Asylum and immigration tribunal fees are set to increase by more than 500% in order to help pay off the Ministry of Justice’s funding deficit.’
The Guardian, 21st April 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A banded approach to probate fees has been proposed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Views are sought on proposals to impose fees of between £300 and £20,000, depending on the value of the estate. The value of an estate below which no fee is payable would rise from £5,000 to £50,000. The consultation is open until 1 April 2016.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 29th March 2016
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘David Rose reviews the recent Court of Appeal decision in Burns v Burns [2016] EWCA Civ 37, which contains an up-to-date summary of the law relating to testamentary capacity and knowledge & approval.’
Park Square Barristers, 31st March 2016
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘Online divorce and probate are set to be delivered under the courts modernisation programme by early 2017, the president of the Family Division has said.’
Legal Futures, 1st March 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The press has been awash with reports of the recent case in which Lord Bingham, the son of the 7th Earl of Lucan, obtained a Court Order which finally allowed him to succeed to the title held by his father – who had been missing for over 40 years following the death of a former nanny. The case attracted frenzied press coverage in 1974 when the family nanny, Sandra Rivett, was found dead at the home of Lord Lucan’s estranged wife in Belgravia. Suspected of her murder, Lord Lucan fled and was never seen again. However, this was only the beginning of the saga for the family. Over the ensuing years there were regular reports of sightings of the fugitive peer. None were confirmed, and an alternative theory was that he had committed suicide shortly after the murder.’
Park Square Barristers,
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘This consultation sets out the government’s proposals for reforming the fee payable for an application for a grant of probate. The proposed fee regime will move from a flat to a banded fee approach, proportionate to, and rising with, the value of the estate, and at the same time will increase the value of the estate below which no fee is payable from £5,000 to £50,000, lifting some 30,000 estates out of paying any fee. The proposals are intended to be fair and progressive. The Government is also considering whether grant of probate applications should be excluded from the fee remissions scheme and are seeking views on this issue.’
Ministry of Justice, 18th February 2016
Source: www.consult.justice.gov.uk
‘For some families it could amount to a potential 129-fold increase in costs.’
Daily Telegraph, 18th February 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘A woman who lived with her partner for 18 years has won a legal battle with his estranged wife for his share of their home.’
BBC News, 16th February 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Plans to create three new breeds of lawyer – probate practitioners, conveyancing technicians and probate technicians – are being published today by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).’
Legal Futures, 15 February 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A probate manager who admitting making 140 “improper withdrawals” over a period of 11 years, resulting in a client account shortage of £730,000, has been banned from working for law firms.
Legal Futures, 17th November 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Imagine an estate where there is no dispute amongst the beneficiaries, whether about the validity of the deceased’s will or its terms. Imagine that there is no inheritance tax to pay by reason of the death of the deceased. The bulk of the estate is held in a bank account that is accessible online and the executor named in the will is aware of the username and password applicable to this online account. He wishes to use them to transfer the money in the account to an account in his name and then to administer it precisely according to law.’
New Square Chambers, 29th June 2015
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
‘The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has introduced a policy for dealing with complaints about organisations which provide non-legal as well as legal services, such as some alternative business structures (ABSs) and, shortly, accountants who offer probate advice.’
Legal Futures, 19th September 2014
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) has won the approval of the House of Commons to grant its members rights to conduct reserved probate and conveyancing work.’
Legal Futures, 10th September 2014
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Peter Howes forged the signature of his brother and mother, cashed in life insurance policies and siphoned off the proceeds of the sale of the £1m family home.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th September 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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