The High Court has upheld a 91-year-old woman’s will even though she was suffering from dementia at the time it was made. The law requires that when making a will, a person must have testamentary capacity – that is, they must fully understand what they are doing and the consequences of their decisions. However, in
If you have a will it is worth reviewing it on a regular basis, just reading it once a year and talking it over with your legal advisor can ensure that you keep it up to date and have in place a will that accurately reflects your wishes. It is not uncommon to see cases
The court heard that the man had originally made a will which benefited both his daughter and his sons. However, following a family dispute involving the sons and the daughter, the situation changed. The father wrote to both his sons telling them he was upset by the situation and asked them to engage in mediation
The amount families will have to pay in inheritance tax is set to increase by £3billion to £21billion over the next five years. The rise is due to the revival of the housing market, which is increasing the value of properties. Meanwhile, Chancellor George Osborne has announced he’ll be introducing new measures making it more
An elderly woman’s will which left half her estate to her neighbour to the detriment of her family has been rejected by the High Court. The judge held that it was unlikely that the woman fully understood what she was doing at the time when she made such an important decision. She had first made
The Government has launched a new interactive online map to enable people to see the quality of care provided for dementia sufferers in their area. There are 670,000 people in England who suffer with dementia, and the number is likely to double over the next 30 years. A further 21 million people have a close
People who feel they have not been properly provided for in a relative’s will can ask the courts to step in and grant them a larger share of the deceased person’s estate. However, unless there are exceptional circumstances, they usually have to begin proceedings within a six-month time limit. Failure to so do could mean
A man has successfully challenged his father’s will, which he suspected had been drawn up in suspicious circumstances. The issue arose because when the father died, it emerged that he had made two wills in the two years before his death. The first will was made in 2007 and divided his estate equally between his
Discretionary trusts are a great way to reduce the burden of inheritance tax but they must be drawn up properly to be effective. A recent case before the High Court shows how problems can arise if the trust is not prepared correctly. The case involved a man who made a will in which he
The government is seeking international collaboration to tackle the growing challenge of dementia as people lead increasingly longer lives. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says there are currently 670,000 people suffering from various forms of dementia in theUKand this figure is set to double over the next 30 years. Mr Hunt said: “Dementia is far from