The new digital service for grant of probate applications has achieved a 92% satisfaction rating in its first 12 months, according to HM Courts and Tribunal Service. The service was introduced in July last year to streamline applications by dealing with them centrally at the Birmingham Courts and Tribunal Service Centre. It’s part of a
A woman has been committed to prison following a dispute with her brother over their late father’s estate. The court heard that neither of the siblings had been named as executor of their father’s will but the sister had taken the role without authority to do so. The brother applied to have the sister removed
The Court of Protection has stepped into safeguard the interests of an elderly pensioner who was unable to handle his financial affairs at a time when he was facing complex legal action. The case involved a 75-year-old man who had various medical conditions. He struggled with alcohol abuse and suffered with short-term memory loss and
A woman has won the right to her receive her late partner’s military pension, after a legal battle that lasted several years. Jane Langford had been in a relationship with Air Commodore Christopher Green for 15 years when he died suddenly in 2011. Ordinarily, she would have been entitled to a bereavement grant and her
A woman has been awarded £1.2m despite being written out of her father’s will after they fell out in the later years of his life. The judge found that the woman was entitled to the sum because she had worked on the family farm for 30 years on the understanding that she would inherit it.
A judge has ruled that a son was entitled to a share of the family farm, despite having fallen out with his parents, because he had worked for more than 30 years on the understanding that the land would pass to him. The High Court heard that in 1981, the parents made wills under which
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensure people taking out Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) are given the help and protection they need. LPAs enable you to nominate someone such as a family member or trusted associate to make decisions on your behalf if you ever lose the ability to do so yourself in
A leading lawyers’ association says that cohabiting couples should have automatic rights to inherit if their partner dies without making a will. Under current law, a surviving partner must apply to the court to obtain financial provision or a share of the estate if their partner died intestate, that is, without having made a will.
The leader of the political group, the Christian People’s Alliance, has lost a court battle with his sister over their mother’s will. Sidney Cordle gained national prominence in 2014 while campaigning against same-sex marriage. He also stood for Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden but failed to get elected. Mr Cordle’s mother Peggy died in 2016
The High Court has set aside a transaction in which an 85-year-old sold her house at a considerable undervalue to a man 45 years her junior. The judge held that she did not fully understand what she was doing when she agreed to the sale. Ann Sybil Gurney formed a close relationship with William Paul