contentiousprobate

Apr

2024

Challenge to Will’s Validity Rejected by High Court

Written by Hayley Caprani-...

The best way to ensure your assets will be distributed as you wish is to have your will professionally drafted by a qualified solicitor. In a recent case, a challenge to the validity of an elderly man’s will was dismissed by the High Court. The man...

Feb

2024

Failing to Make a Professionally Drafted Will Risks Tearing Your Family Apart

Written by Megan Heger

Many grieving families have sadly been torn apart by a loved one's failure to make a professionally drafted will. Exactly that happened in a High Court case concerning two brothers who fell out bitterly over which of them should take charge of...

Jan

2024

High Court Shows Compassion in Inheritance 'Mercy Killing' Case

Written by Tracy Creed

Where one person unlawfully kills another, the killer usually forfeits their right to inherit any part of the deceased’s property or estate. This “forfeiture rule” is clearly set out in section 1 of the Forfeiture Act 1982. However, as a High Court...

Nov

2023

This is Why You Should Store Your Will Securely in a Law Firm's Vault

Written by Tracy Creed

Law firms focused on ensuring their clients' peace of mind generally provide secure storage facilities for their important documents. A High Court inheritance dispute triggered by a landowner's missing will underlined the risks of keeping such...

Aug

2023

Aide-Mémoire - Contentious Probate - Estoppel

Written by Mitra Mann

Does an agreement or a promise need to be in writing to make it valid? Can a verbal promise be enforced? To avoid any misinterpretation, a promise made or an agreement reached should be recorded, preferably in writing. This gives everyone a good...

Jan

2023

Think Hard Before Changing Your Will – High Court Cautionary Tale

Written by Katie Maxwell-S...

Keeping your will up to date is a very good idea, but making changes that are likely to disappoint members of your family who might expect to inherit can be a recipe for disaster after your death. That was certainly so in a High Court case...

Aug

2022

Anxious to Avoid Family Conflict After Your Death? Consult a Solicitor Today

Written by Hayley Caprani-...

Where there is ill feeling within families, many elderly people understandably fear that their death will signal the outbreak of internecine strife. However, as a High Court case showed, the best way to avoid such an outcome is to instruct an...

Jun

2022

£6.4 Million Will Dispute Over Mis-transcribed Word

Written by Hayley Caprani-...

Will drafting is an exact science, requiring years of professional training, and a single mis-chosen or out-of-place word can have very serious consequences. Exactly that happened in a High Court case concerning the mistaken use of the word ‘both...

Mar

2022

Wife Sees Off Bankruptcy Trustees' Attempt to Sell Off Her Home

Written by Hayley Caprani-...

When people dispose of assets shortly before having themselves declared bankrupt, it is inevitable that eyebrows will often be raised. However, as a judge's ruling showed, it is one thing to allege an improper motive and quite another to prove it....

Feb

2022

Moral and Legal Obligations are Different – Family Inheritance Dispute

Written by Hayley Caprani-...

There can be a world of difference between a moral obligation and a legal one. The High Court made that point in rejecting a daughter's claim that part of her deceased mother's stake in a residential property was held on trust for her. By the...

Search form

contentiousprobate

Challenge to Will’s Validity Rejected by High Court

Failing to Make a Professionally Drafted Will Risks Tearing Your Family Apart

High Court Shows Compassion in Inheritance 'Mercy Killing' Case

This is Why You Should Store Your Will Securely in a Law Firm's Vault

Aide-Mémoire - Contentious Probate - Estoppel

Think Hard Before Changing Your Will – High Court Cautionary Tale

Anxious to Avoid Family Conflict After Your Death? Consult a Solicitor Today

£6.4 Million Will Dispute Over Mis-transcribed Word

Wife Sees Off Bankruptcy Trustees' Attempt to Sell Off Her Home

Moral and Legal Obligations are Different – Family Inheritance Dispute

Latest News

Subscribe

Connect with us

Contact Birmingham

Contact Sheldon

Contact Shirley/Solihull