fbpx

This Is Why You Should Make a Will Whilst You're Still Hale and Hearty

19th June 2023 By

There are all sorts of good reasons why you should instruct a solicitor to draft your will whilst you are still hale and hearty. As a High Court case showed, waiting until you are old and vulnerable before performing that vital task is to positively invite dispute between your loved ones after you are gone.

The case concerned a widow who was in her 80s when she made a will leaving the lion’s share of her estate – which largely consisted of her home and farmland – to her daughter. In challenging the will’s validity following her death, one of her sons asserted that the daughter had taken advantage of her vulnerability and brought undue influence to bear upon her.

Ruling on the matter, the Court noted that, by the time she made her will, the widow was in failing health and had poor mobility. Her sight was deteriorating and she required help with many day-to-day tasks. The daughter, who lived with her, provided most of her care.

On the other hand, she was not wholly dependent on her daughter, who was not her sole beneficiary. The nuanced terms of the will sought to achieve a balance between all members of the family. It was drafted on her instructions by a highly experienced solicitor, who ensured that all legal formalities were complied with and who testified that he had no cause for concern that undue influence might be in play.

In ruling the will valid, the Court noted that she was referred to as ‘the boss’ within the family. Despite her vulnerability, she was a strong woman who knew her own mind and was in control of her own powers of decision-making. She was not someone who would be easily influenced by others and the Court was satisfied that her freedom of choice was not overborne by her daughter.

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...