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When people die, it is the duty of the administrators of their estates to gather in their assets and distribute them to those entitled to inherit them. As a case concerning the contents of a deceased artist's flat showed , however, that task is by no means...
No one knows when death will come calling and it is equally a truism that, if you fail to make a professionally drafted will, you store up trouble for your loved ones after you are gone. As an unusual Family Court ruling showed, that is particularly so if...
There will always be some people who believe that making your own will represents a sensible economy. However, as a High Court ruling strikingly showed , saving the modest expense of having your will professionally drafted may come at a frightful emotional...
Couples generally either own their homes as joint tenants or as tenants in common. The distinction between the two may not be widely understood but, as a High Court ruling in an inheritance case showed , it can matter very much indeed. The case concerned a...
Failing to make a professionally drafted will positively invites disputes between your loved ones that can take on the proportions of an ancient Greek tragedy. As a High Court case showed, such discord can even extend to the disposal of your body. The case...
Sick and vulnerable people can be prone to the malign, even fraudulent, influence of relatives or others who are intent on maximising their inheritance. However, as a High Court case showed , such conduct is unlikely to go undetected. The case concerned a...
There is ultimately only so much that you can do to prevent your loved ones falling out over inheritance issues after you are gone. However, as a High Court decision showed, the threat of bad blood developing can be greatly reduced by making an expertly...
Even with the most careful drafting, there is always a risk that a will may be capable of bearing more than one meaning. In resolving a family inheritance dispute, the High Court considered the extent to which extraneous evidence of a will-maker's...
Judges have no power to rewrite your will after your death so as to achieve a result which, in their view, better reflects your wishes. The High Court made that point in upholding the validity of a Parkinson's disease sufferer's will although, at least in...
Keeping your will up to date is a very good idea, but making changes that are likely to disappoint members of your family who might expect to inherit can be a recipe for dispute after you are gone. That was certainly so in a High Court case concerning a...
