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When a property is owned by two people as joint tenants (where the title to the property is owned by each of them, so that if one dies, the other inherits the property by survivorship), each of them is considered to be the legal owner of the property. A man...
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The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has now published its response to the recent consultation on proposals to criminalise squatting. The consultation paper, entitled ‘Options for dealing with squatting’ , received over 2,000 responses. As a first...
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When a Jersey multi-millionaire gave most of his assets away to one of his daughters in the months prior to his death, leaving an estate of less than £100,000 to be shared by all three of his children, it was perhaps inevitable that a legal challenge...
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A recent case illustrates how strong the evidence must be before the presumption that a person making a will has the mental capacity to do so will be overturned. It involved an elderly woman who died leaving an estate of a little under £150,000. Her...
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When a house is bought or sold, the prospective purchaser makes what are called ‘pre-contract enquiries’ in order to establish the exact details of the property being bought. These are normally in the form of a standard set of questions with any...
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One of the rules that applies to the administration of estates is that whilst a person appointed as executor under a will can refuse to accept the appointment, once an executor ‘intermeddles’ in the estate, in principle he or she cannot then...
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The UK has been proceeding apace in its attempts to develop ‘green’ energy, and wind turbines are appearing all over the country – including in such seemingly unlikely spots as beside the M25. However, no matter what their benefits as...
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When a millionaire estate agent died intestate, the two women he had been involved with both tried to have his estate distributed according to their wishes. Chris John died leaving an estate worth £5 million. At the time of his death, he had been...
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The recent case in which the court was asked to rule regarding a vacant flat that was part of a property sold at auction – the existence of which neither the vendor nor the purchaser was aware of until after the sale – has now been heard by the...
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A widow who was excluded from inheriting her husband’s £500,000 estate, under the terms of a will he made four years before he died in 2009, has contested the will, alleging that the brain tumour from which her husband was suffering meant that he...
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Years ago, it was common for a deed creating a trust for children to specify the beneficiaries as being ‘the legitimate children’ of the person setting up the trust. Recently, the children of the 13th Duke of Manchester, by his bigamous marriage...
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The combination of a deathbed marriage, a millionaire and a new will was always likely to end in a court battle, and so it proved recently when a family challenged their late father’s will, which left everything to his new wife, who had been his...
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The Law Society is urging the nearly 70 per cent of the adult population who have not yet made a will to do so. There are many reasons why you should make a will. It is a mistake to think that it is only necessary if you have a substantial estate. Estate...
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Noisy neighbours can be the bane of one’s existence, so it is no real surprise that a lesbian couple finally lost patience with their adjoining next-door neighbours after they had workmen carrying out extensive building work on their property for a...
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Among the requirements for a will to be valid are that it must not be witnessed by a beneficiary and it must be signed at the bottom by the testator (the person making it) or, if they are unable to sign it, under their direction. You would therefore be...
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Before you purchase a property, it is wise to make sure you are aware of the implications of any permitted uses of the land surrounding it. A recent case, in which the courts declined to prevent a landowner from carrying out activities which, although they...
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According to a recent poll, more than one in eight wills is ‘self-written’ and one in 10 of those people who have made a will fails to tell anyone where it is. Since nearly 4 out of every 10 adults have not made a will in the first place, the...
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A recent case illustrates the importance for cohabiting couples of giving careful consideration to property ownership and inheritance issues. Ms Cattle had a relationship with her partner, Mr Evans, for many years and when he died she made a claim against...
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A recent case illustrates that, when mistakes occur, it may not always be possible to put them right. A buyer and seller exchanged contracts on a flat, which was being sold by way of a long lease. This seems straightforward enough, but when the plans were...
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It may be tempting (but is probably just tempting fate) to put a ‘qualification’ clause in a will whereby a person inherits only if they do something or refrain from doing something. Where it is something definite which can be unequivocally...
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The general principle that ‘the loser pays the costs of the winner’ does not apply to disputes brought before the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT). The maximum amount the LVT can require the loser to pay is £500, and only then in...
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When a beneficiary loses out because the terms of the will of a wealthy person are changed shortly before that person’s death, a dispute is always likely. When a Scottish woman with an estate valued at £4 million died shortly after changing her...
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A fence put up by a Devon couple will cost them more than £20,000 in legal fees and re-erection costs after the court decided that it was built a few inches the wrong side of their boundary with their next-door neighbours. The court case was necessary...
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A recent case will cause concern to anyone who has a specific wish that their estate should not pass to certain people. It involved a woman who left an estate of more than £400,000, which she had bequeathed to various animal charities. The woman had a...
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Press Release: Clutton Cox in Chipping Sodbury says the popularity of second homes in the UK, which are often used as holiday homes, could expose owners to a “minefield” of risks. The popularity of "staycations" - staying in...
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A very unusual case illustrates the lengths to which the courts may go in order to sort out disputes involving lost wills. It involved a couple who had both been married before and who, it was claimed, had made mutual wills. On the husband’s death,...
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The Government has suggested that councils in rural areas consider changing their planning policies to allow unused farm buildings to be converted to use for residential purposes, rather than insisting that they only be used as farm buildings. This idea is...
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An unusual instance of the creation of a statutory will was reported recently, when an application for a statutory will was granted to the daughter of a woman who had suffered a stroke. The applicant’s two half-siblings were found to have forged an...
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An attempt by campaigners to prevent the demolition of a neo-Georgian building by creating a conservation area was recently defeated , following a challenge by the property company that wished to develop the site. The council failed to prevent the...
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A woman whose mother left an entire estate to charity has won her appeal for a substantial payment from the estate, sufficient to meet her need for reasonable maintenance. Melita Jackson died in July 2004 at the age of 70, leaving a net estate of some...
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A recent court decision illustrates that where ownership of land changes, rights conferred by covenants over neighbouring land are not necessarily passed on to the new owners. In this case, the former owners of a house had sold part of their garden for...
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A man who was appointed under a power of attorney to look after a woman’s affairs, when she could no longer manage to do so herself, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after he abused his position of trust to steal more than £100,000 from...
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When the terms of a house building contract exclude any liability for losses incurred by the client on account of defective works, the client has no redress under a general duty of care. This was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a recent case...
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When an obvious error is made, the courts will sometimes be willing to correct the mistake – but not always. In a recent case , the court was asked to consider wills executed by an elderly couple. Each will was a simple ‘mirror will’, in...
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When a person continues to use land they do not own over a long period of time, they may acquire an easement (a legal right to use the land). Recently, the Court of Appeal considered the extent of the rights created by easements. The case arose because of...
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A recent case shows that the creation of a valid will in English does not depend on the person creating it being able to speak the language. The situation arose when a woman’s daughters contested her will, which left everything to her four sons,...
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Provisions introduced on 6 April 2007 under the Housing Act 2004 made it a requirement that landlords protect their tenants’ deposits using an authorised Tenancy Deposit Scheme, if they have let the property on an assured shorthold tenancy. The rules...
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A man who built a house which appeared from the outside to be a barn has lost his battle to obtain a certificate of lawful use for the property. The man originally obtained planning permission to build a barn. He then constructed a fully-equipped...
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The Law Society is campaigning to persuade the Government that a change to the law is necessary to protect members of the public from problems caused by using unqualified will writers. The Law Society wants will writers to have to gain formal qualifications...
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An argument over an estate worth more than £4 million has caused a family rift which looks set to run and run. The case concerned the assets of a Greek Cypriot woman, who died leaving her and her late husband’s estate largely to their daughter....
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The High Court has confirmed the principle that where a lease for a dwelling is held by two tenants, either tenant can give a valid notice to terminate the tenancy. The effect of such a notice is that both tenants will be required to vacate the premises...
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A case which recently came before the High Court illustrates how complicated probate issues can be, especially where the will was written in another country or involves assets abroad. The case involved an Indian man, who lived in the UK and owned several...
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It is a source of concern to lawyers and families alike that the majority of people never make a will. Often, the intention to do so is there, but somehow the person never seems to ‘get around to it’ and dies or becomes incapable before a will...
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When the owner of a building intends to carry out work covered by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 , the owner of an adjoining building has the right to request security from the owner planning the work where this involves a risk to their property. This is so...
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The newspapers have recently reported several incidences of the exploitation of vulnerable elderly people. In one such case, Stevenage care worker Jo-ann Tharle has been jailed for the theft of savings of more than £10,000 from an elderly man in her...
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An ongoing dispute between a pensioner and her local authority has demonstrated the importance of considering the impact of planning laws when carrying out work on listed buildings. Sheila New, 72, painted the front of her house a light blue colour in 2008....
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When appointing an executor, it is vital that you make sure you choose someone who is trustworthy. Where co-executors are appointed, it is important that they will all oversee the estate administration. The wisdom of an assiduous approach when deciding who...
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A dispute between neighbours over whether or not a brook marked the boundary between their properties may well be aired in the Supreme Court after the couple who lost the argument in the Court of Appeal was given permission to appeal against the decision. ...
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If something was described to you as a floating structure moored in a river, you would be forgiven for assuming that what was being described was a boat – but it isn’t necessarily so, as a Norfolk couple found. Using a barge as a base, they...
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The Court of Appeal has overturned a controversial High Court decision regarding a will which was unclearly worded. The deceased had left his property, valued at £169,000, to his lifelong friends. He also left a pecuniary legacy to his brother and his...
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A builder who entered the ‘buy to let’ market after acting on a negligent valuation has been awarded more than £70,000 by the court . He intended to buy a property to let it out and engaged a firm of surveyors to value the property and to...
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The Court Service has revised its guidance on making an application for probate, in order to take into account the most common errors made. The guidance has been published by HM Revenue and Customs on page 6 of the June 2010 Inheritance Tax and Trusts...
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In a long-running case , a beneficiary under an estate administrated by his brother failed in his attempt to bring an action against two firms of solicitors which had acted for his brother in his capacity as administrator. Mark Roberts and his brother John...
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Earlier this year, YouGov carried out a poll on behalf of children’s charity Barnardo’s . The results indicate that 58 per cent of adults in the UK, and 74 per cent of those who are cohabiting, do not currently have a will in place. According...
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Sometimes, after a person's death, it turns out that their will does not have the effect that was originally anticipated. This can happen if, for example, the family circumstances have changed since the will was made. In such situations, there are a number...
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A poorly-drafted plan and a refusal to compromise have led to an argument over the boundary between two rural properties reaching the Court of Appeal . The argument between the owners of adjacent land arose because there was a brook and a fence that were...
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Mental capacity has always been something of a problematic area of the law. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 was enacted to put mental capacity law on a firmer footing and is based on the concepts of ‘best interests’ and ‘capacity’....
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When estate assets are not divided as potential beneficiaries think they should be, disagreements often result. When there is a second family involved, legal challenges are relatively common. In a recent case, Jean Gorjat, a multi-millionaire electronics...
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A tolerated trespasser is a person who has had an eviction order made against them but who remains in occupation of the property with the landlord’s acquiescence because they continue to pay rent. Since the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 came...
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It is often thought that an appeal to the Court of Appeal will lead to the resolution of a dispute, but in some cases, the Court will merely decide that another hearing is necessary. In a recent case , the Court heard an appeal concerning a boundary...
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The Court of Appeal has now handed down its judgment in a recent case in which the lower court held that a man’s will was valid because he had testamentary capacity (‘was of sound mind’) when he gave instructions for it to be drawn up,...
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A recent case confirms that for the purposes of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 , which gives tenants of let houses the right to buy them in appropriate circumstances, a ‘house’ need not be used as a residence in order for the right to buy to be...
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Two directors of a company exposed by Panorama have been jailed for three and a half years each
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Yet another recent case illustrates that the elderly and the bereaved are a target for those who seek to manipulate others for their own benefit. An NHS bereavement services adviser from Leicestershire was jailed after being found guilty of stealing...
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If you are thinking of buying a property, it is important to be aware of any covenants or easements relating to it. Almost two thirds of freehold properties are subject to an easement (which gives someone other than the owner a right over the land), and...
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A Sheffield house buyer has failed in his recent attempt to have a £48,000 debt wiped out . He was hoping that the 12-year limitation rule on recovery of mortgage loans would enable him to benefit from lax debt recovery on the part of his mortgage...
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A recent case illustrates the dangers of making even small changes to your will without taking professional advice. A woman and her second husband had made mirror wills leaving their house to their own children and dividing the rest of their estate...
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It is often said that an oral contract is as good as the paper it's written on. Many family disputes have arisen because an agreement was made without appropriate documentation being created, and the courts are rarely willing to enforce such agreements. A ...
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A recent case illustrates the sort of unanticipated problem that can arise as a result of owning property abroad. The case involved an English man who owned a property in Brittany. He was in receipt of social security benefits – in particular,...
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An argument over a narrow strip of land has left a mother and son facing massive costs after their case was heard in the Court of Appeal recently. The dispute arose because their neighbour wanted to put up a fence on what he considered to be the dividing...
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The problems which can arise when there is an intestate estate that involves business assets were made clear recently when the High Court had to rule on a complex claim relating back to a death that occurred many years ago. At stake was a share in a farm,...
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A recent case in the Court of Appeal has resulted in a 92-year-old widow being given the right to evict her daughter and son-in-law, after a bitter family dispute that has lasted, on and off, for 20 years. The judges dismissed the couple's claims that they...
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A total of 15 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with domestic gas appliances in the year 2008/2009, mainly a result of gas appliances being fitted badly or not being serviced properly. All landlords have a statutory obligation under the ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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The Mental Capacity Act 2005 introduced provisions to assist in establishing capacity. The law will assume that the Testator has capacity unless the contrary can be established. The Act provides that a Teatator is not to be treated as unable to make...
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It is normal for properties to contain covenants of different sorts and one which is common in residential estates is a covenant not to do anything which causes a nuisance to nearby property owners. The Court of Appeal recently had to consider whether such...
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A will must normally be made in writing to have legal effect, but there are exceptions to this rule. One is that a sailor can make a valid will orally when at sea. Recently, this rule was held by the court to apply in the case of a sailor who made an oral...
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Until the recent publicity afforded by television shows on the subject, many people might not have realised that ‘heir tracing’ companies exist, let alone that they research ‘promising’ estates by looking at public records and then...
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When is a safe period to retain records after someone dies? Well, if you are claiming unclaimed allowances for Inheritance Tax (IHT) retaining records after a person has died is essential. You will need to retain the records in order to demonstrate...
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i recently posted about this case in the blog section of our website under Will Writers: They're All Solicitors.Right? Here is a more in depth analysis of the case. The trial of an unqualified will writer took place in Bristol recently when a 45-year-old...
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Lending for residential property purchases has increased significantly in recent months – the July figure of £16 billion showing a 26 per cent rise over June. August and September have both shown gross mortgage lending of about £12.5...
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The Office of the Public Guardian has responded to criticisms of its overly complex forms for creating a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) by issuing new and simplified forms. An LPA allows a person to give a friend, relative or trusted advisor the power to...
