C and Richard Challen (the deceased) were in a relationship for 40 years and had two children (the defendants). Throughout that period the deceased subjected C to sustained coercive control, leaving her in an abnormal psychiatric state. On 15 August 2010 C killed the deceased with a hammer and was convicted of his murder in 2011. In February 2019 that conviction was quashed and the matter remitted for a retrial, and in June 2019 C was convicted upon a guilty plea of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Under the common law ‘forfeiture rule’ C was precluded from benefiting...
The deceased was married to the claimant. In 2019, when he was 81 and she was 74, a car they were driving in was involved in a road accident. The deceased died of his injuries. The claimant was driving, and was prosecuted for causing the deceased’s death by careless driving. She pleaded guilty, was given a suspended prison sentence and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
The deceased’s will left his residuary estate to the claimant. In the event that the claimant predeceased the deceased, the will provided for legacies to the defendants. The deceased was also joint tenant...
Continue reading "Succession: Consider what is just"