Trust, estates & will disputes

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...

A ‘litigation friend’ is appointed to be a party to court proceedings when the person they are representing does not have the capacity to do so. The appointment of a litigation...

If a couple separate but do not divorce, their finances continue to be linked until either a divorce or separation agreement (which divides finances in a binding agreement) is...

To be valid, a Will must meet certain standard criteria which are set out in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. If these criteria are not satisfied then the Will may fail resulting...

In England and Wales the law allows certain relatives, dependants and those treated as children by the deceased to apply to the court if they are left out, or insufficiently...

Married couples and people with children will normally leave their money to their spouse or children after they die. If they are not properly provided for, a spouse or child is...