‘Damages-based agreements (DBAs) used by a law firm in a probate dispute concerning a multi-million pound estate are unenforceable because they do not comply with DBA rules, the High Court ruled last week.’
Law Society's Gazette, 7th February 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The recent decision of Joanna Smith J in Leonard v Leonard [2024] EWHC 321 (Ch) is instructive for private client practitioners, non-contentious and contentious alike. The validity of a will was disputed on the grounds of lack of testamentary capacity and want of knowledge and approval. The case stands out for its unusual facts, of how warning signs were missed, of how a professional will drafter failed to comply with repeated client instructions for a simple will, and of how the court will be aided (or not) by ex post facto expert evidence.’
Wilberforce Chambers, 30th September 2024
Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk
‘Lois McMaster Bujold once wrote “the dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for them”. This articles considers how far the living may be able to go – the death of a party to current or potential litigation is not a priority in the grieving process of the loved ones left behind, but it is an aspect of litigation with which lawyers should be familiar.’
Wilberforce Chambers, 23rd May 2024
Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk
‘Digitising the Probate Service without modernising the rules was “an expensive mistake”, the former chair of the Law Society’s wills and equity committee has told MPs.’
Legal Futures, 1st May 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A daughter seeking to propound a copy of her deceased mother’s will has been “let down” by her solicitors in failing to comply with an unless order to issue proceedings, the High Court has ruled.’
Legal Futures, 31st January 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Delays at the Probate Service are shortening in the wake of a “distinct improvement in recruitment, competency, productivity and call handling”, the government said this week.’
Legal Futures, 12th January 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘In this article, JJ Liew examines the case of Bowser v Smith, with a focus on the Court of Appeal’s discussion of the conduct expected of the parties in the handling of contentious probate litigation.’
New Square Chambers, 3rd October 2023
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
‘Lumb v Lumb [2023] EWHC 2052 (Ch) was an appeal on costs which sheds interesting light on how general rules of the CPR fit together with special provisions governing probate disputes. On a related note, it offers a case study of how the modern ethos of deterring dubious litigation can interact with legal principles of an earlier vintage. There were various other points of interest in the case, but I focus here on this theme.’
Wilberforce Chambers, 30th October 2023
Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk
‘A majority of private client lawyers believe the new online probate process is taking longer than the old paper-based system, a survey by the Law Society has found.’
Legal Futures, 18th October 2023
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is keen to hear about people’s experiences with firms offering these services, over concerns that not all are complying with consumer protection law.’
Family Law, 7th August 2023
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘A law firm which started proceedings when its client did not have standing to bring them has been ordered to pay wasted costs because it failed to check this.’
Legal Futures, 21st April 2023
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Naidoo v Barton [2023] EWHC 500 (Ch) clarifies an important, and hitherto unresolved, issue concerning the doctrine of mutual wills. The court determined that it is the Etridge test for undue influence, applicable to challenging life time transactions, that applies when considering whether or not a mutual wills agreement should be set aside and not the more stringent probate test that generally applies where a will is challenged on the grounds of undue influence.’
Gatehouse Chambers, 12th March 2023
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘It’s becoming more and more common to see disputes over inheritance. In 2019, 188 cases of challenging Wills reached the High Court, a dramatic increase of 47% from cases in 2018. In fact, it is now estimated that 3 in 4 people are likely to encounter such a dispute within their lifetimes. It is more important than ever therefore to be aware of the grounds upon which a Will may be challenged.’
Mills & Reeve, 16th January 2023
Source: www.mills-reeve.com
‘In Re the estate of Cooper, deceased (probate); Cooper (a child, by her litigation friend) and another v Chapman and others [2022] EWHC 1000 (Ch), a draft will found on the Deceased’s computer after his death could be admitted to probate as his last will in circumstances where the executed will could not be located, and the fact that it could not be located did not mean that it should be presumed to have been revoked by the Deceased.’
St John's Buildings, May 2022
Source: stjohnsbuildings.com
‘In Hughes v Pritchard and others [2022] EWCA Civ 386, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the trial judge in a probate claim (see Hughes v Pritchard and others [2021] EWHC 1580 (Ch)) that a testator lacked testamentary capacity, concluding that the judge’s findings on that subject were “not open to him on the evidence”.’
St John's Buildings, 4th April 2022
Source: stjohnsbuildings.com
‘The way a solicitor went about preparing a £100m will was “reckless and quite possibly dishonest”, the High Court ruled yesterday.’
Legal Futures, 1st February 2022
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Justice secretary Dominic Raab is “in the market for something quite drastic and bold” to reduce the number of private law family cases in the courts, he said yesterday.’
Legal Futures, 1st December 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Royal Family in modern times live very public lives. Core members seem to have been bred in captivity, like exotic fish in an open aquarium, some of whose waters are murkier than others, but almost all of which will sooner or later be publicly visible.’
Transparency Project, 26th September 2021
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The High Court has thrown out the suggestion that a judge was biased against three litigants in person, saying the deputy master was stern and showed signs of impatience but handled the case in a “fair and open-minded way.”‘
Law Society's Gazette, 16th April 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Holding a trial over the validity of a will remotely may have helped a witness admit that the contents of his affidavit were not true, the High Court has suggested.’
Litigation Futures, 30th March 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
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