The High Court has outlined some tests for mental capacity and whether a person may have had delusional beliefs when making a will. 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
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. 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
The High Court has clarified how shares in a man’s estate should be distributed when charities specified in his will no longer existed. The will gave several legacies before leaving the residue of the deceased’s estate to ‘the British Racing Drivers Club Benevolent Fund’ and ‘the Cancer Research Fund’. However, there was no institution or
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. 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
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
The Treasury has agreed to make changes to the administration of Inheritance Tax following complaints from the public that it is too complex, old fashioned and needs to be simplified. The announcement comes after more than 3,500 people responded to a public consultation carried out by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) on behalf of
Britain has an enviable record of supporting good causes, yet many people are still unaware that they can use their wills to give to their favourite charities and gain some tax benefits at the same time. A survey carried out by the Law Society just after the first lockdown restrictions began to ease showed that
People making or renewing their will are being urged to consider arranging a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) at the same time to protect their interests into the future. It follows research carried out by the Law Society, which showed there had been an increase in the number of people drawing up a new will
A court has corrected an error in a man’s will to reinstate his original intention as to how his estate should be divided among family members. The issue arose because the deceased had made a will in 1998 dividing his estate into 52 parts to be given to different named beneficiaries from his wife’s family.
In 2019, the Office of the Public Guardian learned that nearly 75 percent of people think that their partners or close family members can automatically make decisions for them if they’re not able to. This is not true; only a lasting power of attorney (LPA) gives you the legal ability to give those you trust