Legal

Legal topics

Professional Negligence with Wills, Tax and Probate

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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

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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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Researching how to report to a Regulator is protected

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whistleblower protection
whistleblower protection
researching how to report to a regulator

The case of Bilsbrough -v- Berry Marketing Services [2018] involved an employee who researched how to blow the whistle. The Tribunal confirmed that because the employee was researching how to report to a regulator he can rely on the same legal protections as actual whistleblower’s.

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UpSkirting Now a Criminal Offence

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The Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 received Royal Assent amends the Sexual Offences Act 2003  Voyeurism and upskirting now a criminal office. Until now offenders could only be prosecuted for voyeurism or outraging public decency. But voyeurism only applies to filming in “private” while outraging public decency usually requires a witness – and upskirting often goes … Read more

Upcoming Posts in the coming months

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1. Practice guidance for Lawyers seeking apppointment as accredited Legal Representatives in the Court of Protection/ 2. Dependant claims by Testator’s adult children – Nahajec v Fowle [2017] 3. Unmarried partners – property rights – Lewis (as Executrix of the Estate of Blackwell, deceased) v Warner [2017] 4. Court of Protection – Protection of Trust … Read more

Cost of Death Certificates Rises

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A three-fold rise in the cost of a death certificate could result in solicitors being unable to administer some estates, lawyers have warned. The General Register Office this month increased the cost of obtaining a certificate online from £4 to £11.

Charlotte Pritchard, a member of the private wealth team at national firm BLM, told the Gazette it is not unusual for families to require between 10-20 death certificates in order to administer an estate. She warned that where solicitors are appointed payment may need to be initially funded by the firm; particularly if no family members are able to find the up-front cash.

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