An executor who stole more than £80,000 from the estate of a client faces a jail sentence for his crime. The man, who operated as a ‘will writer’, also faces a confiscation order against his assets. Much of the money was used to finance a...
An easement is a right over someone else’s land, such as a right of way. Once granted, rights of easement are frequently forgotten about, but a recent case shows the importance of making sure that an easement does not lapse through disuse. It...
A recent case illustrates that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will often vigorously challenge potentially low asset valuations for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. HMRC disputed the probate value of a property, which had been valued by two different valuers...
Following a series of cases involving unqualified will writers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced that it has approved a Code of Practice which will apply to members of the Institute of Professional Will Writers (IPW). The code of practice will...
Those who buy new homes 'off plan' now have significant new protection under the Consumer Code for Home Builders , which came into affect on 1 April 2010. The Code requires builders of houses to keep buyers informed of the progress of the construction...
When an estate containing assets such as property or unquoted shares is to be distributed amongst several beneficiaries, there is potential for dispute over the valuations of assets. A case which is now starting to occupy court time illustrates this point....
If you are facing the possibility of having to fund care home fees or are concerned about there being an Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability when you die, it may be tempting to think about gifting your house to your children, so that when the day comes, it is...
An owner of an estate was recently successful in preventing the creation of a public right of way, thanks to a previous owner who had disputed a planning enquiry nearly 30 years previously. The dispute involved a pathway which a local planning...
One of the more contentious issues in the administration of estates arises when the deceased had remarried, leaving ‘old’ and ‘new’ families, which often take different views about how the estate should be divided. The High Court...
Five men have been imprisoned for participating in a sophisticated investment scam which preyed on expatriate investors. The Serious Fraud Office is also seeking to confiscate the fraudsters' assets, in order...
A recent case in the Court of Appeal illustrates how disputes can arise between neighbours as a result of ambiguous drafting of legal documents. In this case, the dispute concerned the owners of neighbouring properties that had originally been one parcel...
Although a trustee is personally responsible for the actions they take, the law is not so harsh as to prevent a trustee who makes an innocent mistake from rectifying it. In a recent case , a ‘receiver’ for a mentally impaired man (her...
Those who invest in the shares of private companies have generally been able to reassure themselves that, should the worst happen and the shares become worthless, they can at least make a 'negligible value' claim. This leads to the shares being treated...
If landowners allow other people to use their land over a long period, they may lose the right to prevent such use in the future. An 'easement' (the right of use over someone else’s property) is created when use of...
Possessions and money are not the only issues which can be considered when making a will. Some people choose to donate their body to medical science after death in the hope that it will be of some practical use. Donated remains are used by medical students...
Although we have become used to the Government announcing initiatives which never see the light of day (or announcing them as new initiatives months or years later), the news that Home Information Packs (HIPs) have been scrapped by the new Government will...
A recent attempt by the RSPCA to contest a will failed, after the charity pursued in court what was described as an ‘extremely weak’ case. The charity, which inherited two thirds of a millionaire’s estate, demanded an even bigger...
The increased focus on wealthy individuals by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has resulted in a dramatic rise in the tax yield from their investigations (reported to be £373 million in 2008/9 compared with £81 million the...
When someone must cross a piece of someone else’s land to access their own, the land crossed is known as a ‘ransom strip’, because the price which must be paid for the right to cross the land is often heavy. In a recent case, two...
Because of numerous problems with trust law (which is based both on common law and the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 1964 ), the Government has, after a long consultation process, introduced new legislation in the form of the Perpetuities and...
The Court of Appeal has overturned the ruling that a boat owner who had moored his boat to the river bed of the Thames had acquired legal title to the land. The Court accepted that it was possible to acquire the title by adverse...
A recent case , involving a bitter dispute amongst a Norfolk farming family, has shown that a will may not be upheld by the courts if there are serious doubts about the testamentary capacity of the person who made it. In the case...
A recent planning case in the Court of Appeal produced what the judge described as a ‘surprising outcome’. Alan Beesley had been granted planning permission by Welwyn Hatfield Council to build a barn on green belt land, for agricultural use...
Owners of properties and other assets abroad will be relieved to hear that the UK has opted out of the European Union (EU) proposals to simplify the administration of estates with a ‘cross-border’ dimension. The EU estimates that there are some...
Challenges to wills based on the argument that the testator (the person who makes a will) lacked mental capacity are becoming more and more frequent and, with an ageing population, this trend looks set to continue. Most such challenges are made by...
