A 91-year-old woman’s will leaving all her estate to her grandson has been declared invalid because she suffered from dementia and was unaware of the consequences of her actions. The case involved a woman who had six grandchildren who all stood to inherit when she died. Three months before her death, her grandson helped her
An employee has lost her claim for compensation for injury to feelings under the Working Time Regulations 1998. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that such compensation was confined to incidents of discrimination. The case involved a woman who brought a claim against her employer for failure to allow her rest breaks as required by
The family of the pop star Prince fear there could be a costly dispute over his multi-million pound fortune because he died without having made a will. Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, has asked a court in the United States to appoint a special administrator to manage his estate because he left no will or instructions
Research into dementia is making regular headlines, with the recent report of Sea Hero Quest, a smartphone game developed by dementia researchers to record people’s spatial navigation skills. According to the reports, these skills are often the first skills to fail in a person who has dementia. Alzheimer’s Research UK, who have made the game
An elderly woman knew what she doing when she drew up a new will, even though she was suffering from some mental impairment at the time. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving a family dispute between the woman’s grandchildren and their uncle. The court heard that in 2003,
Inheritance tax receipts are set to increase by more than 20% this year, according to the Office for National Statistics. The latest figures show that death duties are on track to bring in £4.6 billion in the 12 months to February. That compares with the £3.8 billion for the same period last year. Rising house
A wife who claimed her husband tore up a will that left her nothing has lost her legal battle to inherit his estate. The case involved an elderly Ukrainian man who made the will in 2010, a couple of years before he died and one year after his second marriage. The will left his estate
The dispute over whether a woman’s estate should pass to her daughter or to a number of charities is to be settled in the Supreme Court. The case involved a woman who fell out with her daughter because she eloped with a boyfriend when she was 17. The daughter later married the boyfriend and now
Families inheriting estates valued at more than £2m will have to pay probate fees of £20,000 under new proposals being put forward by the government. The move would also see the beneficiaries of much smaller estates paying no fee at all. Under the current system, all estates worth more than £5,000 pay a standard probate
New reporting forms have been introduced to improve protection for people using lasting powers of attorney (LPA). LPAs enable you to appoint someone to be your deputy and look after your interests should you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself at some point in the future. Deputies can be appointed to make decisions