Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2018 #171The High Court was asked to determine, as a preliminary issue, whether a potential claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act) by a surviving husband against his late wife’s estate abated on the death of the husband. The wife (Mrs Milbour) died on 5 January 2014, the husband (Mr Milbour) shortly thereafter on 20 October 2014. Mr Milbour did not bring a claim under the 1975 Act against
Mrs Milbour’s estate during his lifetime.
The net value of Mrs Milbour’s estate was £16,776,054. By her will Mrs Milbour left...
Suzanne Kingston and Natalie O’Shea highlight the new children arbitration scheme and analyse the impact of the post-arbitration decision in DB v DLJ ‘Under the children arbitration scheme, disputes concerning the exercise of parental responsibility and other private law issues connected to the welfare of children may be resolved.’ The children arbitration scheme, approved by …
Continue reading "Arbitration: Seeking finality"
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Kate Smith looks at a Barder appeal based on the arrangements for the children of the family ‘Ordinarily, the appeal court is limited to a review of the lower court’s decision unless it considers that in the circumstances it would be in the interests of justice to hold a rehearing.’ Hot on the heels of …
Continue reading "Financial Provision: Change of heart"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | October 2015 # 153Having entered into a pre-nuptial agreement, WA (‘the wife’) married HA (‘the husband’) in 1997. The wife was an heiress and the husband brought modest assets of his own to the marriage. They kept their finances separate. The couple and their three children lived on a very large estate (‘the Z estate’) during the marriage and restored it using the wife’s finances.
The marriage broke down in 2014. Both the wife and husband instructed expert family lawyers which supported the brokerage of an agreement. Following disclosure of their respective gross and net incomes, it was agreed tha...
Beth Mason and Georgia Day look at the Court of Appeal decision in Critchell and what may constitute a Barder event ‘There have been many attempts to set aside orders based on a Barder event, but the courts have been reluctant to let such applications succeed and the threshold for success is high.’ Family lawyers …
Continue reading "Barder Appeals: Finding closure"
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Taylor v Bell indicates that the court has unfettered discretion to vary periodic payments under the Inheritance Act 1975. Richard Selwyn Sharpe discusses ‘Executors faced with such an application in future should be astute to examine the financial needs and resources of an applicant, while not being overzealous as to the time and expense incurred …
Continue reading "Inheritance Act 1975: Lesson plans"
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In the conclusion to a two-part analysis, Frances Bailey and Claire Glaister look at the options when seeking to set aside a consent order ‘To successfully set aside a consent order on the basis of common mistake it must be shown not only that there was a common mistake, but that that mistake was fundamental …
Continue reading "Setting Aside: Playing the odds"
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Hannah Clark analyses the limited circumstances in which the courts will reopen a final financial order ‘The courts are paying clear regard to the floodgates argument, through their restrictive application of the principle of finality in litigation and their constant reiteration of the extraordinariness of Barder events.’As family lawyers, we are well accustomed to the …
Continue reading "Financial Provision: Revisiting orders"
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Kirstie Gibson outlines the differences between applications to set aside and appeals in the light of recent Court of Appeal decisions ‘The sharing principle should not be imposed on other starting points in relation to particular types of assets, depending on whether they were matrimonial or non-matrimonial.’ The recent Court of Appeal decision in Kingdon …
Continue reading "Disclosure: A second bite"
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