Probate: Ashes to ashes

Pump Court Chambers (Chambers of Oba Nsugbe QC) | Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal | November 2018 #201
Disposal of a corpse: who has the right to decide after death? Amy Berry explains ‘Judge Boggis QC confirmed that the factual matrix is relevant as are the views of all sides and the wishes of the deceased, but that ultimately the court is required to find a solution which does fairness and justice to …

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Probate: Out in the ether

Brabners LLP | Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal | October 2018 #200
Digital assets risk being overlooked during the probate process. Sue Mackintosh and Joshua Eaton report ‘If digital assets with a financial value are not accounted for, the estate of the deceased will not receive the assets, and the beneficiaries will receive less.’ In administering an estate, the personal representatives (PRs) of a deceased individual must …

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Probate: Breaking the deadlock

St John’s Chambers (Chambers of Matthew White) | Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal | June 2018 #197
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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Probate: When to distribute

St John’s Chambers (Chambers of Matthew White) | Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal | March 2018 #194
Case management can be tricky when the forfeiture rule may be invoked. Natasha Dzameh reports ‘As a matter of principle, neither the inquest nor the civil proceedings should take precedence over the other, bearing in mind that the question of forfeiture lay at the centre of the civil proceedings but could not be determined by …

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Wilson v Lassman [2018] WTLR 1577

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2018 #170

The claimant sought an order pronouncing against the will of his late father Gerald Wilson (the ‘deceased’) dated 9 October 2010, and revoking the grant of probate obtained by the defendant, as executor and sole beneficiary. The claimant contended that the will was not validly executed in compliance with s9 of the Wills Act 1837 (the ‘1837 Act’).

The will had been written, in manuscript by the deceased on a will form and was purportedly attested by two witnesses, Mr Byrne and Mr McKinley. It contained a proper attestation clause. It was not disputed that...

Adepoju v Akinola [2016] EWHC 3160 (Ch)

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | March 2017 #167

This is a claim relating to the estate of Medinat Bola Adepoju (the deceased) who died intestate in July 2015. The claimant is the daughter of the deceased and the defendant claimed to be a widower of the deceased.

While this was technically a probate claim, the issue between the parties in the short term was who should administer the estate. Each party feared that the other would favour themselves when administering the estate. The issue as to administration itself turned on whether the defendant and the deceased were validly married. The defendant argued that since he is the sur...

Probate: Laid to rest?

5 Stone Buildings | Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal | October 2016 #180
Alexander Drapkin discusses a recent case which indicates the factors the court takes into account in a dispute over where a body should be buried ‘The exercise of their authority in disposing of the deceased’s body would likely still have been subject to control by the court and so it was necessary to establish a …

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Randall v Randall [2016] EWCA Civ 494

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | September 2016 #162

This appeal concerned when a party has standing to bring a probate claim. The appellant (H) and respondent (W) were divorced. As part of the divorce settlement, they agreed that if W were to inherit more than £100,000 from her mother, she would keep the £100,000 and the balance would be split equally between H and herself. On her death, W’s mother left £100,000 to W in her will and (after some small specific legacies) the balance of her estate (estimated at £150,000) to W’s children.

H brought a probate claim to challenge the validity of the will alleging that it was n...

Kebbeh v Farmer [2015] EWHC 3827 (Ch)

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | July/August 2016 #161

Malcolm Mitchell (the deceased) died on 26 September 2011 in Gambia. By his final will dated 5 May 2006 he divided his estate between his three daughters equally, subject to minor pecuniary bequests. The will left no provision for his second wife, Haddy Kebbeh (the claimant). The claimant brought a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the Act). The defendants claimed that the deceased died domiciled in Gambia, and that the claimant therefore had no claim pursuant to s1(1) of the Act.

The deceased had moved to Gambia...

Probate: Fee reign

New Square Chambers | Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal | May 2016 #176
Alexander Learmonth gives the lowdown on the probate fees consultation ‘This naivety in the proposal’s formulation leads one to think that enforcement of the new fees would be problematic for Probate Registry officers, who have neither the training nor the investigative resources to act as tax inspectors.’ What fantastic value for money we get from …

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