May 2022 #233 – Law Journals

Musings from Manchester: The new generation

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What is the best approach to training future trust and estate practitioners? Geoffrey Shindler draws on the past to learn lessons for the future Despite the numerous attempts, or proposals, put forward to resolve the issue there is never one agreed solution and certainly not one agreed for anything more than a very short period …

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Mental capacity: A history of local authority interventions

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Denzil Lush sheds light on the origins of local authority involvement in mental incapacity proceedings Commissioner Murray was wrong in believing that Cohen’s was the first case of its kind. An almost identical petition had been filed 30 years earlier in 1811, in the matter of Ann Pettman. The primary purpose of this article is …

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Beneficiaries: A practical approach

Timothy Sherwin looks at the rights of beneficiaries to an account Blades and Boothman suggest that the courts will be willing to permit derivative claims to advance in appropriate circumstances even where they have not been formally designated as derivative claims. A beneficiary has a right to an inventory and account from her executor. That …

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Will construction: What constitutes a clerical error?

Kevin Kennedy and Justine Reid analyse a case that outlines the steps taken for interpreting a will as well as the scope of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 The issue for the court was whether a solicitor copying and pasting a clause from a precedent bank that did not reflect the testator’s intention, and …

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Farming disputes: The three ‘P’s – partnerships, proprietorships and proprietary estoppel

Katie Alsop explores the latest developments in proprietary estoppel Despite the benefit which had been conferred upon them by virtue of the transfer of the farmhouse, that did not discharge the detriment associated with the promises and assurances made to Simon and Alison. The doctrine of proprietary estoppel is fast becoming known as the gift …

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Wills: Documentary evidence trumps witness testimony

Oliver Auld and Lydia Kember examine the inherent unreliability of witness testimony based on memory Solicitors will now be under a personal obligation to avoid producing witness statements that are over-lawyered or in any way present a narrative which does not match the witness’s own recollection. There is an inherent difficulty that many challenges to …

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Valid execution: A will, but no way

Wilson v Spence is a useful reminder of the evidential burden on a party propounding a will. Dilan Deeljur discusses Practitioners (on either side, whether propounder or examiner of a will) should not simply take a will at face value and assume valid execution. In Wilson v Spence [2022] the claimants sought to propound a …

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Probate: An unusual occurrence

Toby Bishop describes when a reverse summary judgment in a probate claim may be necessary The Deputy Master concluded the allegations made against Ms Fuirer were so fanciful that they should never have been made. Because of the inquisitorial role of the court and the factual matrix surrounding the preparation and execution of wills, it …

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