National Minimum Wage and Sick Pay

National Minimum Wage – Current rates These rates are for the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage. The rates change every April. Year 25 and over 21 to 24 18 to 20 Under 18 Apprentice April 2019 (current rate) £8.21 £7.70 £6.15 £4.35 £3.90 April 2020 £8.72 £8.20 £6.45 £4.55 £4.15 Coronavirus and … Read more

CORONAVIRUS AND CONTRACTS: FORCE MAJEURE

The outbreak of coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) is having a significant impact on the ability of businesses to perform their contracts. As of 03 March 2020 there have been 2809 cases reported and 56 deaths. It is very likely to get much worse in the UK before it gets better. Businesses have to be … Read more

Professional Negligence with Wills, Tax and Probate

Delay in preparing Will

The starting point is the House of Lords’ decision in White v Jones [1995] 2 AC 207 in which it was confirmed that that a solicitor or will draftsman may be liable to disappointed beneficiaries under a Will where the solicitor is guilty of undue delay in drawing up a Will for execution by the testator before the testator’s death.

In White v Jones the testator quarrelled with his two daughters, and executed a Will cutting them out of his estate. He was then reconciled with his daughters. On 17 July 1986 the defendant firm of solicitors received a letter from the testator asking them to prepare a new Will to

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The law on mistake

Smith v Stanley [2019] 2 WLUK 174 has several points of interest. Reported mainly because the court intervened to correct the mistakes made, it is the mistakes themselves that are worth attention as they were easily made but carried serious consequences.

A testator died in 2015 leaving a pecuniary legacy of £4.2m to be held on trust for the benefit of his second wife for life, remainder to his children;

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