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Will formalities Under the Wills Act 1837, a Will must be signed by the testator in the presence of two independent witnesses who have no interest in the Will. The witnesses also sign the Will and each state their name, address and occupation. This...
The recent case of Re Macom GmbH (UK) Ltd [2021] EWHC 1661 (Ch) highlights the wide discretion of the court when considering unfair prejudice. Even when a court decides that a party’s conduct constitutes unfair prejudice, it does not always order a...
When oral evidence is not enough – the recent case of Re Electrical Control Installations Ltd [2021] (05 October 2021) highlights the importance of contemporaneous documentation to evidence unfairness in a successful petition under section 994 of the...
Our contentious probate solicitors are frequently asked to deal with disputes between executors and beneficiaries. Sometimes, beneficiaries are kept completely out of the loop by executors. On some occasions, more serious issues arise when executors show...
On 22 June 2021, we published a blog post about Labour MP Fabian Hamilton who had raised the issue of predatory marriages during Prime Minister’s Questions, calling on the government to reform this area of the law . This issue has now...
The 2021 case of Fox Group International Limited (“ Fox ”) v Teleta Pharma Limited (“ Teleta ”) is an example of an intellectual property case backfiring. Fox, a supplier of cosmetic products, had a distributor agreement with...
For those considering who to leave their estate to after they die, a tricky dilemma can often arise when considering the question of their own children. For various reasons, a testator may not consider it appropriate to leave anything to their child or...
In the recent case of Ugolor & Ors v Ugolor [2021] EWHC 686 (Ch), the Defendant was removed from his position as executor of his mother’s estate following an application made by the Defendant’s three siblings (the Claimants). In the...
Labour MP for Leeds North East, Fabian Hamilton, has called on the Prime Minister and his government to reform the law in relation to so-called ‘predatory marriages’. Speaking in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s...
In the recent case of Re R (Deceased) [2021] EWHC 936 (Ch), the High Court granted the award of £186,000 to two children left out of their father’s will. The two children, who were both under the age of 18 at the time of the claim...
The case of Miles & Anor v Shearer [2021] EWHC 1000 (Ch ) concerned a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 brought by the two adult daughters of top banker and former head of merchant bank Singer...
As the country continues to ease out of the third lockdown, it seems a good opportunity to reflect on one of the most significant legal changes, in the Private Client world at least, that occurred during the pandemic – the remote witnessing of...
In the recent case of Clitheroe v Bond [2021] EWHC 1102 (Ch), the landmark test established in Banks v Goodfellow [1870] for assessing testamentary capacity has been upheld by the High Court. The facts of the case concerned Jean...
The issue of caveats arises frequently in will disputes and contentious probate cases. A caveat is a formal notice which is lodged at the probate registry which stops a grant of probate or a grant of letters of administration being extracted. The lodging...
The nation is in a state of mourning after the death of the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, aged 99. When a person dies, one of the most important questions is who will inherit that person’s property. Whilst Prince Philip...
In the recent case of Mundil-Williams v Williams and others [2021] EWHC 586 (Ch) , the High Court considered the last valid will of Mr John Williams, who died in 2017 at the age of 91. He had four sons, first Timothy, who was the claimant in...
If you have been left out of a will, the operation of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, “the Act”, allows certain categories of people to apply for financial provision from the estate following the testator’s...
Mr William Tibbles, a former car dealer, passed away at the age of 75 in February 2018. Mr Tibbles had five children, comprising of his four daughters Terri and Kelly (who were twins), Susan and Cindy, and a son, Paul. The first will, drafted by solicitors...
With cases on the rise, today’s blog explores the issue of dementia in relation to making a will. One million people in the UK are expected to have dementia by 2025, increasing to two million by 2050, according to recent research produced by...
COVID-19 and insurance: can you recover your lockdown losses from your insurer? On 15 January 2021, the Supreme Court handed down a high profile judgment which is likely to result in a significant number of insurance pay outs for small businesses. The...
