Blog
Rayner my parade! The importance of specialist advice.
Jemma Brimblecombe
4 March 2019
What if you’ve been left an inheritance, but not in the way that you want?
On 8 November 2018, almost 17 months out of time, Mary Jane Cowan made an application under Section 4 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for permission to make an application under Section 2 of that Act against the estate of her deceased husband, Michael Anthony Cowan (Cowan v Foreman, [2019] EWHC 349 Fam).
15 January 2019
Top 10 Contentious Trust and Probate Cases of 2018
2018 has seen many interesting decisions in the field of contentious trust and probate litigation. I summarise what I see as some of the key cases below (in order of the judgment date), which have covered topics varying from will validity challenges to construction of trust documents and much more in between.
30 November 2018
Abuse of Power of Attorney: Safeguarding against the increasing threat
Last month it was reported by the BBC that a consultant psychiatrist, Zholia Alemi, had been found guilty of four fraud and theft charges (and subsequently jailed for five years) having “redrafted [an elderly patient’s] will and fraudulently applied for power of attorney” in an effort to benefit from her estate. Alemi is said to have met the patient at a dementia clinic.
26 September 2018
Dealing with costs in trusts and probate proceedings – Part 2: exceptions to the general rule in probate claims
The principles applicable to costs in the context of probate litigation are different from the costs of other litigation. In particular, there are two long established exceptions to the general litigation rule that costs follow the event.
18 June 2018
Sign on the dotted line… Does a will need a witness’ signature to be valid?
No will shall be valid unless the testator’s signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time. Each witness must then attest and sign the will.
