Blog
Kingsley Napley’s Medical Negligence Team ‘walks together’ with the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity
Sharon Burkill
30 July 2018
Personal possessions and death
For most ordinary folk (me included) the cash value of their personal belongings ('chattels') is modest and will form but a tiny part of the overall value of an estate on death. But the sentimental value of specific items to individual family members, and the legal fees they might be prepared to spend haggling over who gets what, can be massive and wholly disproportionate.
15 June 2018
Knowledge approval claim fails because the circumstances surrounding the will were not suspicious
On 13 June the High Court handed down judgment in the case of Gupta v Aggrawala and others, a claim brought by Rakesh Gupta who alleged that his late mother’s will (which favoured Rakesh’s younger brother, Naresh) was invalid due to lack of knowledge and approval. Kingsley Napley acted for Naresh in successfully defending the claim, with the Judge concluding that Rakesh had not shown any suspicious circumstances at all in relation to the testatrix’s knowledge and approval of the will.
6 March 2018
“But you promised me!” – Are promises enough when someone passes away?
The recent judgment in the case of Habberfield v Habberfield [2018] EWHC 317 Ch is another of a growing number of judgments in which the claimant (and disappointed beneficiary) has pursued a claim on the grounds of proprietary estoppel.
20 October 2017
Homemade wills and deathbed gifts – are they easier to challenge?
Homemade wills are, generally, easier to challenge. There are a number of things which a court will be looking for when it considers whether a testator was capable of making a will. Firstly, the person must have the requisite mental capacity to make a will. They must also know and approve the contents of that will.
29 August 2017
Wills by WhatsApp?
The Wills Act 1837 (the “Wills Act”) is probably one of the oldest pieces of legislation we tend to come across on a day to day basis. It works well because it is (a) clear, and (b) simple.