Blog
Kingsley Napley’s Medical Negligence Team ‘walks together’ with the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity
Sharon Burkill
23 January 2014
Supreme Court upholds the Wills in a landmark case where a married couple accidentally signed each other’s Wills
The sad case of Marley v Rawlings, where a couple accidentally signed each other’s Wills really caught the public’s imagination.
It was a simple error with catastrophic results – the Wills were invalid and so the man they had loved dearly and treated as their son received nothing, whereas their biological children, to whom they were not close, got everything.
21 January 2014
STEP’s new Code for Will writing protects clients from cowboys
In July last year, we blogged about the Law Society’s new code of practice for Will writing –the Wills and Inheritance Quality Assurance Scheme (WIQS).
We were concerned that WIQS might not be the best solution for clients because it is extremely long and prescriptive and doesn’t necessarily require lawyers drafting Wills to have particular expertise or qualifications in this area.
13 November 2013
Respecting our elders - Are parents being left out in Inheritance Act claims?
Although the law relating to intestacy and inheritance has been developed to complement societal changes, there still lies areas of potential unfairness, particularly in the case of parents who outlive their children. In this piece, Sarah Playforth discusses the issues.
15 July 2013
Implications of the new “Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme” – for clients and private client lawyers
Pity the private client lawyer. Years of law school, years of training, years of hard-earned post-qualification exams – and someone down the pub still thinks he knows how to do your job better than you.
29 May 2012
Challenges to the validity of wills: beware of “homemade Wills”
Challenges to the validity of Wills are becoming more frequent, particularly in relation to homemade Wills and Wills not drafted by professionals. The most common challenges centre around allegations that the testator lacked testamentary capacity; was being placed under undue influence; or fraud. However, recent cases have also shown claimants will increasingly seek declarations that a Will is invalid on the grounds of “want of knowledge and approval”.