Wills, trusts and inheritance disputes

10 March 2021

What is required to show dishonesty in the case of a professional trustee?

Examining the impact of Sofer v Swiss Independent Trustees SA on practitioners in England and Wales. 

This article was first published by STEP, December 2020: Katherine Pymont, 'Moments of Truth', Trust Quarterly Review (Vol18 Iss4), pp.36-41

12 February 2021

Whoever thought Will forgery would be easy?

Two recent decisions relating to forged wills have highlighted what evidence will be sufficient for a court to make a finding of forgery.

19 January 2021

Contentious Trust and Probate Quarterly Round-Up: Q4 2020

This quarterly contentious trust and probate litigation update provides a summary of a cross-section of reported decisions handed down in the courts of England and Wales in the period October 2020 - December 2020.

18 January 2021

Beneficiaries in the dark: what can you do to obtain the information you need?

Beneficiaries often have questions and concerns over how the estate of a loved one is being administered but are sometimes kept in the dark by personal representatives (PRs). Under section 25(b) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925) PRs can be required by the court to provide, on oath, a full inventory of the estate and an account of what steps they have taken to administer an estate. 

13 January 2021

Leaving a legacy to charity: avoiding a will construction claim

The High Court has recently given judgment in the case of Knipe v The British Racing Drivers’ Motor Sport Charity and Ors [2020] EWHC 3295 (Ch), a summary judgment application concerning the construction of a will of a deceased racing driver, Mr Barrie Williams, who had sought to make several bequests to charity but the names of the organisations had not been correctly recorded.