June 2018 #197 – Law Journals

Probate: Breaking the deadlock

John Dickinson considers how the High Court approves expenses in estate accounts ‘The court pointed out that it would be wasteful if, in every case, for their own protection, the personal representatives were to be obliged to engage the costs assessment system before being able to enter the sum concerned in their estate accounts for …

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1975 Act claims: What is ‘maintenance’?

Vlad Macdonald-Munteanu reviews the quantification of awards under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for elderly claimants ‘The take-away point is to help the court help you by ensuring that all figures are backed up with evidence and, where appropriate, expert reports.’ For many years, practitioners and judges alike have grappled with …

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Trusts: Adults only

A recent case defines the scope of the Court of Protection for dealing with the variation of trusts. Marie Batchelor explains ‘While a minor has the legal ability to make some decisions, or enter into some agreements, it is widely accepted that a minor does not have the ability to vary a trust.’ The Variation …

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Construction: When a conflict of interest leads to court

Sally Goodger discusses a case which debated the circumstances in which a letter of wishes should form part of the will ‘All executors are potentially within the scope of s50 and if circumstances arise which impede the fulfilment of testamentary wishes, the court can exercise its statutory jurisdiction.’ Judge Russen QC handed down his judgment …

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Trustees: Who is liable?

The Privy Council has given welcome guidance on the rights of trustees of Jersey and Guernsey law trusts. Nick Robison reports ‘It will comfort beneficiaries (and settlors) knowing that assets settled into trust may not be attacked by a third-party creditor of the trustee, without consideration of the trustee’s role.’ On 23 April 2018, the …

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Musings from Manchester: The quest to simplify the practice of IHT

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Geoffrey Shindler urges practitioners to express themselves ‘The cost of valuations, if indeed valuations should be required in this type of estate, is, I suggest, out of all proportion to the requirement of obtaining probate when no IHT is payable.’ Your country needs you! At this moment in our momentous history we must all rise …

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Wills: Can an unsent text message be a valid will?

Sheila Rusike and Jo Summers examine worldwide precedents for accepting unconventional wills ‘The fact that the text message was unsent only demonstrated that the deceased wanted it to be found after his death and not before, further supporting the argument that he wanted it to express his final wishes.’ The Law Commission’s recent consultation paper, …

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IHT: Simplification is not a simple process

Tim Harrison analyses recent research into the workings of IHT and examines the future agenda for reform ‘Testators and beneficiaries had quite a limited understanding of inheritance tax. Most were aware of the basic principles of the tax but few knew the details of either the threshold or the spouse exemption.’ On 4 July 2015 …

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