Shortly before the Parliamentary recess, on 25 July 2020, the Government made a much anticipated, announcement that it would be introducing legislation modifying the formality requirements of s. 9 of the Wills Act 1837 so as to expressly permit the remote witnessing of wills via the use of video-conferencing technology. The issue of making wills […]
02
Jun
Jun
It was my great pleasure to co-author this article with Juliet Brook. Juliet is a Principal Lecturer in Law at the University of Portsmouth, specialising in property law. Her research focuses on the law of succession and she has written a series of detailed articles on testamentary dispensing powers, which you can find here. This article […]
01
Jun
Jun
My last two posts have looked at the issue of will-making during the coronavirus pandemic, and the difficulties of socially distant witnessing, and some of the proposals for reform of the law of wills and the options for a temporary solution to the difficulties faced by testators during the pandemic. In this post, I address […]
12
May
May
The Law Society and the Ministry of Justice are understood to be continuing to discuss possible solutions to the difficulties of making wills during the coronavirus pandemic. Although lockdown measures are starting to loosen, concerns about the risks posed by face to face meetings and home visits are likely to persist for some time and […]
27
Mar
Mar
We are living in extraordinary times right now. In the grip of a global pandemic, many people are concerned to ensure that their affairs are in order and that they have made a Will. However, social distancing measures and the need to shield the vulnerable from infection present particular challenges in terms of the formal […]
10
Mar
Mar
This article was first published in the Practical Law UK Property Litigation Column. According to the statistics held by HM Land Registry, some 15% of land in England and Wales is unregistered. In particular, much of the land owned by the Crown, the aristocracy and the Church has not been registered, because there has been no change in […]
21
Nov
Nov
After validity challenges and 1975 Act claims, disputes concerning the conduct of executors are perhaps the most commonplace of probate disputes. From cases of difficult, slow, uncooperative or hostile executors through to the downright dishonest, the issue frequently arise as to whether the current personal representatives should continue to administer the estate or, alternatively, should […]
09
Jul
Jul
A version of this article, written for a lay audience, first appeared on the Transparency Project blog. The Transparency Project is a registered charity which aims to explain and discuss family law and family courts in England & Wales, and signpost to useful resources to help people understand the system and the law better. You can read more articles […]
10
Jun
Jun
T v V [2019] EWHC 214 (Fam) is a case that will be of interest to contentious probate practitioners since it deals with the question of when the court should exercise its power to award interim payments to a claimant in a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The judgment […]
17
Feb
Feb
ET v JP & Ors [2018] EWHC 685 (Ch) is a short but an important decision which deals with the question of the boundaries between the Court of Protection and the High Court when considering the variation of a trust on behalf of a minor who will never possess mental capacity. The case concerned an application […]