fbpx

Ambiguous Wills – Court of Appeal Gives Effect to Deceased's Intentions

18th January 2022 By

Where words used in a will are ambiguous, judges will strive to interpret them in a way that gives effect to the deceased’s intentions. An instructive Court of Appeal decision on point hinged on the little-known fact that the Channel Islands are not formally part of the United Kingdom.

The case concerned a man who, at the date of his death, owned assets in Russia, England and Jersey. By his will, he left all his ‘UK assets’ to his children. After his death, an issue arose between the children and his widow as to whether that bequest included his assets in Jersey. A judge found that it did.

Challenging that decision, the widow pointed out that the Channel Islands, although falling under Crown jurisdiction, are not legally part of the United Kingdom. None of the dictionary definitions of ‘United Kingdom’ embrace the Channel Islands and the meaning of the term was said to be immutable.

Dismissing her appeal, however, the Court noted that it was established by case law that the term ‘United Kingdom’ can, in some contexts, be interpreted so as to include the Channel Islands. The will therefore contained an ambiguity, in the sense that the term could be given more than one meaning. The judge was therefore entitled to look beyond the will’s wording in order to discern the man’s intentions.

Dictionary definitions were not decisive and, were a narrow legal definition of ‘United Kingdom’ adopted, the result would be a partial intestacy. That was an undesirable outcome that would run contrary to the presumption that, by making a will, testators intend to dispose of all their relevant assets. The man had himself spotted the ambiguity in his will prior to his death and extraneous evidence showed beyond doubt that he intended his bequest to his children to encompass his Jersey assets.

Source: Concious

Latest News

Tenants Can Purchase Freehold When Landlord Cannot Be Found

11th June, 2024 By

The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 gives qualifying leaseholders the right to join together to buy the freehold of their properties – a process known as collective enfranchisement. A recent case demonstrated that this right can be exercised even when the landlord cannot be found. The leaseholders of two flats in a terraced house wished to purchase it from the landlord, but were unable to ascertain his whereabouts and therefore could not serve notice on him under Section 13 of the Act. They therefore applied for an...

Court Refuses to Set Aside Divorce Order Applied for by Mistake

6th June, 2024 By

While the courts have a range of powers to set aside orders, they will only exercise them in limited circumstances. In a somewhat surprising case that has attracted much comment, the High Court declined to set aside a final order of divorce that had been applied for by mistake. A couple separated in January 2023, after more than 21 years of marriage. In October that year, while financial remedy proceedings were still ongoing, the wife's legal representatives inadvertently applied for a final order of divorce in respect of her instead...

Waiting Time for Grants of Probate Falls

3rd June, 2024 By

Following concerns last year about delays in processing probate applications, recent figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service show that waiting times for grants of probate are continuing to improve. The average time from submission of a probate application to probate being granted fell to 11.3 weeks in March 2024, a decrease from 13.7 weeks in February and 13.8 weeks in January. This is the lowest figure since March 2023, when the average was 10.8 weeks. The longest waiting time since then was in November, at 15.8 weeks: that month,...

Late Appeal Against Tax Penalties Rejected

31st May, 2024 By

It is incumbent on taxpayers to make sure they fully comply with their obligations to file returns and pay any tax due. The point was illustrated by a recent case in which a taxpayer whose return had not been received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) failed to persuade the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that he should be permitted to appeal against the resulting penalties. On the evening of 31 January 2014, the man had completed his 2012/13 Income Tax return on HMRC's website. Shortly afterwards he went to Cyprus, and...