Wills, Probate and Inheritance

The Law Society has told the government that a rise in probate fees should be matched by improvements to the service. Ingrid Fraser Solicitor in our Wills, Probate and Inheritance team provides an update. The current fees are £155 for professional users and £215 for non-professional users. These would change to one single probate fee of £273 for all applications under proposals put forward by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).…

Probate lawyers are urging the government to introduce reforms to make it easier for families to access the ‘digital assets’ of deceased relatives. Kendra Winter Associate Solicitor provides an update. A new report carried out by STEP – the professional body for inheritance planning advisers – highlights the extent of the distress caused by being cut off from digital assets when family members die or become incapacitated. The research was carried out…

A man has been removed as an executor of his mother’s Will after his brother complained that he was obstructing the administration of the estate. Megan Wilkinson, Associate Solicitor, reports on this recent case. The case involved three brothers; two of them were executors of her will. Following several years of disagreement, one of the brothers raised a petition seeking the removal of the other as an executor. The petitioner…

The announcement of the Government’s plan for reforming social care is a big political news story.  But the costs of paying for care – and getting the care you or your loved one needs – is a very human story which affects increasing numbers of us. Stephanie Johnson Senior Associate Solicitor and Head of our Health and Social Care Team provides an update … The plan reintroduces the 2011 proposal…

The High Court has reconciled contradictory instructions relating to a deceased woman’s estate so that all three of her children can receive an equal inheritance. Rebecca Armstrong Associate Solicitor reports on this case. The court made the ruling after the trustees of a settlement applied for an interpretation of the woman’s will. Under the deed of settlement, the woman had a special power of appointment in respect of property in…

The process of managing a loved one’s affairs using a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is to be made simpler and safer. Jane Oakley a member of our Wills, Probate & Inheritance team provides an update. An LPA is a legal document that allows people to appoint someone else (an attorney) to make decisions about their welfare, money or property. They are often used by older people to choose someone…

The High Court has outlined some tests for mental capacity and whether a person may have had delusional beliefs when making a Will. Peter Stafford Managing Director reports on this recent case. The issue arose following a family dispute involving a brother and sister. Their parents had divorced in 1980 when their mother discovered letters written by her husband which revealed that he had sexually abused his daughter, the sister in…

Two adult brothers have failed in their attempt to be given a share of their deceased father’s estate after being left out of his will. Rebecca Armstrong Associate Solicitor reports on this recent case. The High Court ruled that it was clear that the father had made provision for them while he was alive and did not want them to receive anything further. The brothers were aged 40 and 39. Their…

Two teenage brothers have been granted a share of their father’s estate even though they were estranged from him and had been excluded from his will. Rebecca Armstrong Associate Solicitor reports on this recent case. The two boys, referred to only as J and H in court, who were aged 16 and 15 respectively at the date of their father’s death in 2018. Their parents had divorced in 2012. The…

The High Court has provided some useful guidelines on what is required for a person’s statements to be legally classed as ‘deathbed gifts’ in inheritance cases. The court was asked to determine the proper distribution of the estate of a married couple. The wife died in January 2019 of cancer and the husband died of a heart attack shortly after in May 2019. The couple had each executed a will…