Blog
What is your duty to co-operate with your regulator?
Zoe Beels
2 July 2019
Who died first? When the date of death matters
Kate Salter discusses the recent case in which two step-sisters dispute who stands to inherit, depending on which of their parents died first according to legislation.
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).
18 December 2018
Inheritance Gifts, Hotchpot and Double Portions. Do children have a right to be treated equally?
Sibling concern over equal treatment can linger well into middle age and beyond; it reveals itself after a parent’s death or during their old age through arguments over who has had what and who’s going to get what. We’re not legally obliged to leave our estate to our children in equal shares or, indeed to leave them anything at all.
14 November 2018
New probate fees – stealth death tax for the middle classes
Despite overwhelming opposition, the government has set a date for a new stealth death ‘tax’ aimed at bereaved families.
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.
