The increasing use of unregulated online will writing services could lead to a surge in family disputes over a loved one’s estate, researchers have warned. Online services have become more popular over the last few years, particularly during the Covid lockdown periods. The consultancy firm, Funeral Solution Expert (FSE), analysed 26 online will writers. It
Probate lawyers are urging the government to introduce reforms to make it easier for families to access the ‘digital assets’ of deceased relatives. A new report carried out by STEP – the professional body for inheritance planning advisers – highlights the extent of the distress caused by being cut off from digital assets when family members
A man has been removed as an executor of his mother’s will after his brother complained that he was obstructing the administration of the estate. The case involved three brothers; two of them were executors of her will. Following several years of disagreement, one of the brothers raised a petition seeking the removal of the
The High Court has reconciled contradictory instructions relating to a deceased woman’s estate so that all three of her children can receive an equal inheritance. The court made the ruling after the trustees of a settlement applied for an interpretation of the woman’s will. Under the deed of settlement, the woman had a special power
The process of managing a loved one’s affairs using a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is to be made simpler and safer. An LPA is a legal document that allows people to appoint someone else (an attorney) to make decisions about their welfare, money or property. They are often used by older people to choose
The High Court has outlined some tests for mental capacity and whether a person may have had delusional beliefs when making a will. The issue arose following a family dispute involving a brother and sister. Their parents had divorced in 1980 when their mother discovered letters written by her husband which revealed that he had
Two adult brothers have failed in their attempt to be given a share of their deceased father’s estate after being left out of his will. The High Court ruled that it was clear that the father had made provision for them while he was alive and did not want them to receive anything further. The
The High Court has clarified how shares in a man’s estate should be distributed when charities specified in his will no longer existed. The will gave several legacies before leaving the residue of the deceased’s estate to ‘the British Racing Drivers Club Benevolent Fund’ and ‘the Cancer Research Fund’. However, there was no institution or
Two teenage brothers have been granted a share of their father’s estate even though they were estranged from him and had been excluded from his will. The two boys, referred to only as J and H in court, who were aged 16 and 15 respectively at the date of their father’s death in 2018. Their
The High Court has provided some useful guidelines on what is required for a person’s statements to be legally classed as ‘deathbed gifts’ in inheritance cases. The court was asked to determine the proper distribution of the estate of a married couple. The wife died in January 2019 of cancer and the husband died of