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2025 in review: Under construction - Tax investigations
Krishna Mahajan
The average Briton now delays making a Will until they are 72 years old according to a recent survey by Remember a Charity. Only three in 10 people in the UK actually have a Will and many of us simply don’t write a Will at all in spite of this being an age of increasingly complicated financial affairs, complex family dynamics and people moving between countries. The lack of engagement or willingness to arrange our affairs is somewhat surprising given the difficulties that can arise if matters are not dealt with and how these may affect the passing down of wealth to your children and through generations.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Sleepless in Seattle, Miracle on 34th Street – all heart-warming tales of single parents who find love again. But all are alarmingly silent about whether the parent in question took steps to protect their wealth for their children’s future.
A Will made by someone who lacks mental capacity is not valid. Just because someone is elderly or suffering from a mental illness does not automatically mean that they lack capacity to make a Will.
‘1975 Act claims’ are claims made under the Inheritance and Family Provisions Act 1975, where relatives and dependants who feel they have not received enough (or anything at all) on someone’s death can ask the Court to make provision for them. Below are a couple of recent cases.
Should you have any questions about bringing or defending a 1975 Act claim, please see our Frequently Asked Questions and case studies or contact a member of our team.
In the case of Catling and others v Catling and another ([2014] EWHC 180 (Ch)), a Will was declared invalid because the testatrix had not had mental capacity when she made it.
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