Can someone be both executor of a will and a beneficiary under the will? This is quite common – but what if there is a conflict of interest? Beneficiaries and executors A beneficiary of a will is a person named in the will as someone who will inherit money or property, or benefit from a trust. An executor of a will is the person named in the will who is […]
The Inheritance (Provisions for Family and Dependants) Act allows the dependants of a deceased person to make claims for reasonable financial provision beyond that which they have been left in the will. Inheritance Act claims don’t question the validity of the will itself. The Inheritance Act specifically aims to help individuals who were dependent on the deceased person before they passed away, such as children, spouses and other financial dependants. […]
In the recent case of DMM, Re (2017) EWCOP 33 the court had to decide if someone had the capacity to marry and revoke a will. When creating a will there are many issues that come into play. Alongside the statutory requirements in Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, there are three main requirements for the formation of a valid will. These are: the testator must have testamentary capacity, […]
Sometimes, the problems that arise from a will aren’t about whether the person who made the will had the capacity to do so, or whether they were unduly influenced by someone else. Sometimes, the problems come from the way the will was drafted – and even properly drafted wills can cause problems in some circumstances. This happened in the case of Jump & Jones v Lister [2016] EWHC 2160 where the survivorship […]
If you have been disappointed with the contents of a will – perhaps you have been inexplicably left out of the will of a loved one or close relative, or you have been left less than you understood you would receive – it is important to make an application for pre-action disclosure as early as possible. Why are documents important in a will dispute? One of the key difficulties in […]
When you are thinking about any kind of legal action, a key concern will be the legal costs involved. It is no different when you are planning to challenge a will. It is a complex area of law, and you will need specialist legal advice and support to help you navigate the process, and succeed in your will claim. A no win no fee arrangement offers a sensible approach to […]
If you want to challenge a will, you have 2 broad options open to you. The first is to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The second option is to challenge the validity of the will itself. There are several grounds to do this – one of those is to argue that the person who made the will, the Testator, did not have […]
A few months back, we looked at the issue of ‘fraudulent calumny’ – which is a kind of undue influence – and how it can be used to challenge a will. The recent case of Christodoulides v Marcou [2017] EWHC 2632 (Ch) is another opportunity to look at what fraudulent calumny involves. The facts in Christodoulides v Marcou This case involved a dispute between 2 sisters, Niki and Andre in relation […]
In this blog, we look at what the requirement to be living in the same household as the deceased, in relation to Inheritance Act claims by cohabitees for under the Inheritance Act 1975. Cohabitees claiming under the Inheritance Act 1975 The Inheritance Act 1975 allows cohabitees – both opposite sex and same sex – to claim under the Inheritance Act 1975 if they have been left out of their partner’s […]