Chopping v Cowan & anr [2023] WTLR 1237
Winter 2023 #193The deceased died on 2 July 2008 leaving a will dated 6 December 2007. The claimant was the deceased’s daughter who was the beneficiary of the residue of the deceased’s estate. The defendants were the deceased’s executors who had acted as the deceased’s solicitor and tax adviser during his life. The will contained a charging clause. The estate had a gross value of £3,814,818. The first defendant had charged legal fees of £78,818.12, and other professional fees from solicitors and tax advisers had also been incurred totalling around £100,000. The claimant challenged the fees borne by the ...
Equiom (Isle of Man) Ltd & ors v Velarde & ors [2022] WTLR 109
Spring 2022 #186Under a settlement made in 1974 by the deceased’s father, the deceased became the life tenant of a fund, over which property she had a power of appointment exercisable in favour of her children by deed revocable or irrevocable, or by will. In 1981, by a deed of appointment with effect from her death, the deceased appointed the fund between her three children. By a deed of revocation in 1997, expressed to be supplemental to the settlement and the 1981 deed of appointment, with effect from her death, the fund was appointed on trust for only two of her three children. The deceased made her ...
Chekov v Fryer & anr [2021] WTLR 441
Summer 2021 #183The claimant was the former spouse of the deceased. They were divorced in the Southampton County Court and by an order dated 6 May 1982 (the order) it was provided that neither party was entitled to make a claim against the estate of the other under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (1975 Act) unless the parties remarried. Although the parties did not remarry, by the time of the deceased’s death they were living under the same roof. The defendants, who were the two sons and executors of the deceased, denied that the claimant and the de...
Evans v Evans & anr [2020] WTLR 1231
Winter 2020 #181The claimant was married to the deceased, and was the sole beneficiary of the deceased’s estate. The claimant, who suffered from motor neurone disease and lacked capacity, was represented by her litigation friend, her daughter. The defendants were the executors of the deceased’s estate, and were the sons of the deceased and the claimant, and the brothers of the claimant’s litigation friend.
In contested probate proceedings, the claimant sought, inter alia, an order removing the defendants as executors of the deceased’s estate and the appointment of an independent administrator.
Mackay v Wesley [2020] WTLR 1359
Winter 2020 #181The appellant was appointed a trustee of the Ellen Morris 1990 Settlement (settlement) by a deed of appointment and retirement of trustees dated 19 March 2003. Her co-trustees were her father, the defendant, and Browne Jacobson Trustees Ltd (BJTL). Previously, a decision had been taken to embark on a ‘round the world’ capital gains tax avoidance scheme in relation to the settlement. This involved appointing Mauritian trustees and realising offshore gains where there was no capital gains tax, distributing the proceeds and then appointing UK-resident trustees in the same tax year of assess...
The Donkey Sanctuary & ors v Bacchus & ors [2020] WTLR 1447
Winter 2020 #181Leonard Dunthorn (Mr Dunthorn) died in 2018, leaving a will pursuant to which the residue of his estate, after a pecuniary legacy, was to pass to his sister Ruby Watts (Mrs Watts), provided she survived him by 28 days. If she did not do so, the residue was to be divided between ten named charities. Mrs Watts survived Mr Dunthorn by more than 28 days and became entitled to his residue. She in turn passed away in 2019, leaving a will which left her residue (after a number of pecuniary legacies) to 11 named charities, the first ten of which were those charities that had been named in Mr Dun...
Smith & anr v Stanley & ors [2020] WTLR 1059
Autumn 2020 #180The testator died in March 2015. By his last will of 14 March 2015 (the will) the testator gave the sum of £4.2m (the legacy fund) to his trustees to be held upon trust to pay the income to his widow for life, subject to an overriding power of appointment in clause 4 of the will for the benefit of a class of discretionary beneficiaries including the testator’s sister. The testator left a letter of wishes for his trustees which indicated how he wanted his estate to be shared between the various members of the discretionary class. By clause 19 of the will the statutory power of advancement...
Christodoulides v Marcou [2020] WTLR 883
Autumn 2020 #180The claimant and the defendant were sisters, the daughters of Agni Iacovou (the testatrix). By her will dated 7 August 2012 (the will), made shortly before her death two days later, the testatrix gave her entire net residuary estate to the claimant whom she appointed to be her executrix. The claimant issued proceedings on 18 June 2014 seeking an order that the court pronounce for the will in solemn form. The defendant defended the claim on the basis that the will had been procured by fraudulent calumny – that the claimant had poisoned the mind of the testatrix by casting untruthful asper...
Re Boyes [2020] WTLR 793
Autumn 2020 #180The testator (T) died in 2010 aged 86 with an estate of £391,573. The claimant (C) was the elderly sister of T’s late wife and sought to propound his last will dated November 2009, which left the estate as to two thirds to her and one third to the first defendant (D1), T’s daughter, who was also executor along with the second defendant. The third and fourth defendants (D3, D4), T’s two sons, challenged the validity of the 2009 will on grounds of lack of testamentary capacity and/or fraudulent calumny allegedly perpetrated by D1 (who was the beneficiary under C’s will). D3 and D4 therefor...
Todd v Parsons & ors [2020] WTLR 305
Spring 2020 #178T died in 2009, aged 96 years, leaving two adult children, her son, who was the claimant (C), and her daughter, who was the third defendant (D3). By a will document dated 25 September 2008, T appointed the first defendant (D1) and the second defendant (D2) as her executors. D1 was the daughter of D3 and T’s only grandchild. D2 was the solicitor who drafted the will document. Both remained neutral in the proceedings.
In June 2017, C brought a claim for probate in solemn form of the will document and for an order removing D1 and D2 as executors and appointing an independent personal...