‘A bitter dispute between three “brothers” over who should gain a £70,000 inheritance after a couple mistakenly signed each other’s wills was brought before the Supreme Court today.’
The Independent, 3rd December 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Nicola Phillipson, Zenith Chambers, examines the case of Berger v Berger where the Court of Appeal refused permission to the appellant to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 almost six years out of time.”
Zenith Chambers, 5th November 2013
Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk
“A man has been found guilty of murdering his business partner and throwing her down a well shaft in an attempt to gain a £1m inheritance.”
BBC News, 25th October 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A woman who accused her late father’s ‘traditionalist’ family of conspiring to cut her out of a £500,000 inheritance because she was born out of wedlock has failed in her legal challenge.”
Daily Telegraph, 27th September 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“James Wilson salutes an iconic litigant in person.”
New Law Journal, 26th July 2013
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
“The principles of testamentary capacity are well settled: a testator must understand the nature of the act of making a will, the extent of the property of which he is disposing, and the persons who may have a claim upon that property: Banks v Goodfellow (1870) LR 5 QB 549. Further, the proposed dispositions must not be poisoned or influenced by any disorder of the mind.”
Full story (PDF) (see p. 3)
New Square Chambers, June 2013
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
“Where there were intermediate leases which subsisted between the freehold and the leases of the participating tenants and which were to be acquired by the nominee purchaser on the collective enfranchisement, and a single owner of those leases or of those leases and the freehold could realise development value by developing the property for use other than as a building containing separate flats, the hope of realising such development value had to be taken into account in fixing the price to be paid for the intermediate leases.”
WLR Daily, 19th June 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“Members of the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) who fail to comply with its code of practice face fines or even imprisonment, as a new UK-wide scheme to strengthen self-regulation by setting standards for such codes goes live.”
Legal Futures, 18th June 2013
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
“A bid by a multi-millionaire businessman to avoid inheritance tax after his death has ‘backfired’ and torn his family apart, a court has heard.”
Daily Telegraph, 10th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Woman sues lawyer whose failure to change a relative’s will ‘cost her £1m.’ ”
Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“This paper addresses the exercise by the Court of Protection of its power under s.18(1)(i) Mental Capacity Act 2005 (‘MCA 2005’) to execute a will for P where P is incapable of making a valid will for him or herself. Such so-called statutory wills (although the phrase does not in fact appear in the MCA 2005) are a very powerful tool that the Court can deploy to protect P and, in particular, P’s estate. Having set the statutory scene, this paper address two key aspects of the Court’s jurisdiction in this regard: (1) the assessment of P’s best interests; and (2) the assessment of P’s testamentary capacity (and, linked, how this assessment relates to the assessment that is undertaken outside the Court’s jurisdiction).”
Full story (PDF)
Thirty Nine Essex Street, May 2013
Source: www.39essex.com
“Section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985, which contained a power to replace or remove personal representatives, applied to a person named as an executor in a will but who had not been granted probate.”
WLR Daily, 18th May 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“The government has today rejected the Legal Services Board’s (LSB) recommendation that will-writing become a reserved legal activity.”
Legal Futures, 14th May 2013
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
“Sidney Ross reports on two recent probate cases and highlights how they interpret existing case law. In Joshi and others v Mahida [2013] EWHC 486 (Ch) the judge followed Re Segelman in answering three questions to determine the testator’s intentions. Sidney also discusses whether ‘the rule of double portions’ applies in Kloosman v Aylen and others [2013] EWHC 435 (Ch).”
Full story (PDF)
11 Stone Buildings, March 2013
Source: www.11sb.com
“A ‘violent’ man who coerced his mother into changing her will to leave him nearly all of her £350,000 fortune is facing a £110,000 legal bill after a judge set aside the will because of his ‘forceful’ nature.”
Daily Telegraph, 12th March 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The Legal Services Board is today [13 February] recommending to the Lord Chancellor that will writing activities should be made subject to regulation, so that the significant risks consumers currently face when using these critical services is reduced.”
Full story (PDF)
Legal Services Board, 13th February 2013
Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk
“The son of a baronet embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with his father over the sale of the family’s £2 million estate was yesterday awarded just £5.60 a year by the High Court.”
Daily Telegraph, 21st November 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Will-writing, estate administration and probate should only be carried out by regulated legal professionals to give greater protection to consumers, the Legal Services Board has proposed.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 27th September 2012
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Hughes and others v Bourne and others [2012] EWHC 2232 (Ch); [2012] WLR (D) 242
“The personal representatives’ power of appropriation under section 41(1) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 was not confined to transactions of a contractual or quasi-contractual nature.”
WLR Daily, 27th July 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“The Law Society today backed plans to extend the list of reserved activities to include will-writing and estate administration.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 16th July 2012
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2024