People who were overcharged when arranging deputyships over a seven-year period can now claim refunds. It’s thought the average pay-out could be £240. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) sets the level of fees for the appointment of deputies, who help people that lose the capacity to manage their financial and welfare interests. The Office of
Three brothers have failed in their bid to overturn their mother’s will, which left nearly all her estate to their sister. The mother had originally made a will dividing her estate equally between her four children. However, her views changed after her health began to deteriorate in 2009 and her daughter came to live with
The High Court has declared that an 86-year-old woman’s will was valid even though she suffered from dementia at the time she made it. The case involved a family dispute between two brothers and two sisters. Their mother had died in 2015, aged 86. She had made a will in 2010 leaving her house to
The proposed changes to probate fees have been scrapped following criticism from the Law Society, the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners and Solicitors For the Elderly. Currently there is a flat fee of £215, or £155 if a solicitor is involved. The government had planned to introduce a banded system that caps the fee
The granddaughters of a farmer have lost their shares in his farm because of complications that arose when their father died without making a will. The grandfather had died in 1992, leaving behind a wife and four children. His will stated that the farm was to be left to his wife and two of his
With no cure for dementia diseases like Alzheimer’s likely to emerge soon, health organisations across the world are stressing the need for people to take preventive measures to protect themselves as they get older. The NHS official guidance says: “There is currently no ‘cure’ for dementia. In fact, because dementia is caused by different diseases
The new digital service for grant of probate applications has achieved a 92% satisfaction rating in its first 12 months, according to HM Courts and Tribunal Service. The service was introduced in July last year to streamline applications by dealing with them centrally at the Birmingham Courts and Tribunal Service Centre. It’s part of a
A woman has been committed to prison following a dispute with her brother over their late father’s estate. The court heard that neither of the siblings had been named as executor of their father’s will but the sister had taken the role without authority to do so. The brother applied to have the sister removed
The Court of Protection has stepped into safeguard the interests of an elderly pensioner who was unable to handle his financial affairs at a time when he was facing complex legal action. The case involved a 75-year-old man who had various medical conditions. He struggled with alcohol abuse and suffered with short-term memory loss and
A woman has won the right to her receive her late partner’s military pension, after a legal battle that lasted several years. Jane Langford had been in a relationship with Air Commodore Christopher Green for 15 years when he died suddenly in 2011. Ordinarily, she would have been entitled to a bereavement grant and her