Blog
Kingsley Napley’s Medical Negligence Team ‘walks together’ with the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity
Sharon Burkill
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.
25 August 2017
Posthumous marriages and the importance of making a will
The recent posthumous marriage between Xavier Jugelé and Etienne Cardiles has caught the attention of many. Jugelé was killed in a terror attack in April earlier this year. He was shot whilst on duty as a police officer on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. He had been among the first responders to the attack on the Bataclan theatre in Paris in November 2015. A month after his death Jugelé’s partner, Etienne Cardiles, married him posthumously.
24 July 2017
Protecting vulnerable will makers – will the Law Commission review go far enough?
Earlier this month the Law Commission published its Consultation Paper on ‘Making A Will’. The consultation seeks feedback from the public and professionals on a number of provisional proposals for reforming the law of wills. This follows a public consultation in 2013 and responds to concerns that the law “is not as clear or protective as it could be”. The aim of this project is to produce “recommendations for a more modern, improved law of wills”, with the key objectives being to (i) support the exercise of testamentary freedom, (ii) protect testators, and (iii) increase clarity and certainty in the law.
14 June 2017
Wills and inheritance: 10 Cross-border Tips
A long qualified colleague of mine recalls a time when he rarely encountered private clients with cross-border concerns. Those ‘unusual’ cases only involved just one international asset – a holiday home in Spain or France. Gone are those days. Indeed, scarce now are the days in central London private client practice when we work on client matters that have no international dimension.
30 May 2017
The difficulties (but not impossibility) of challenging wills prepared by solicitors
In recent years we have noticed an increase in claims being brought which challenge the validity of a will. The reasons for this increase have been previously commented on by many, but the general feeling is that an increasing elderly population, an increase in the diagnosis of medical conditions such as dementia, and even perhaps a growing sense of entitlement by hopeful beneficiaries are all contributing factors.
