We recently reported on the rising number of people preparing new Wills in light of the COVID-19 pandemic (read here). Having a carefully drafted Will is important for making sure...

In April last year the son of a farmer brought a claim against his parents for a share of the family farm following a breakdown in family relations. The court found that numerous...

When a person dies without a Will their estate will pass under the rules of ‘intestacy’. These rules govern who will receive an entitlement from the Deceased’s estate and how...

The Court of Appeal judgment handed down a few days ago in the case of Attorney General v Akhter, determined that an Islamic ceremony of marriage, which did not conform with...

We recently published a blog about the effect of a caveat (in preventing the issuing of a grant) and when a caveat can be entered. As highlighted by that blog, whilst a caveat will...

We are often approached about the steps that someone can take to prevent an estate being distributed where there is a real concern over the validity of the deceased’s Will. ...

I recently posted a blog on the court’s first instance decision in Cowan v Foreman & Ors [2019], in which Mr Justice Mostyn heavily discouraged the use of agreements to...

In the recent case of Dhillon v Dhillon, the court made a Beddoe order in favour of one of three brothers in connection with a proposed claim against his siblings. A Beddoe order...

In the recent case of Abberley v Abberley [2019] EWHC 1564 the High Court found that the heads of terms of settlement drawn up during the mediation was considered binding...

DNA testing in estate disputes DNA testing to ascertain parentage has become more prominent. Recently, a care worker inherited a large country estate after successfully proving...

Why good advice matters – and cooperation is key Estate planning when you have two families can often be complicated.  The importance of good advice, and the sad consequences...

In the recent case of Wellesley v Wellesley [2019] the court has dismissed a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, despite the apparent...

The court of appeal has recently upheld a high court judgement (in the case of Habberfield v Habberfield 2019) in which a large portion of a farming business was awarded to the...

The Law Society has recently provided guidance on the steps a solicitor should take if they are instructed to prepare a Will and the person who instructs them loses capacity...

In the recent case of Gaskin v Corus Law Ltd and another [2019] EWHC61(Ch)] the court considered the implications on costs of the late emergence of a Will in a probate dispute...

When a company’s shareholder dies, the company will ordinarily have to wait for the grant of probate to be extracted before the deceased’s executor can be registered as the...

Certain categories of individual can bring a claim against a deceased person’s estate if their Will (or the rules that govern how an estate passes if there is no Will) does not...

The Telegraph recently published an article on the difficulties that parties can face when the Office of the Public Guardian are investigating potential abuses of power under a...

People are often surprised to learn that from the moment they get married a previously prepared Will is automatically revoked. Accordingly, unless a new Will is made after...

Bankruptcy can be stressful and confusing. If you inherit assets around the time you are bankrupt, what happens depends on the date of death and date your bankruptcy ends (‘is...