Continue reading "Will construction: Context is key"
The claimant was the second wife and widow of the Earl Bathurst (Eighth Earl). The first to third defendants were the trustees of the Earl’s Fund (EFT) created under a statutory Codicil made on behalf of the Eighth Earl by the Court of Protection. The fourth to seventh defendants were the trustees of the Earl Bathurst 1963 estate settlement (settlement). When the Earl succeeded to his title in 1943, his inheritance included a large estate comprising 15,000 acres and a mansion house known as Cirencester Park. There were also chattels that included valuable works of art and collections of ...
The claim was a claim dated 5 September 2016 by the claimants as personal representatives of the late Mr Veliko Aleksic (the deceased), who died on 24 October 2014, for construction of parts of the deceased’s last will. He acquired a house in London in 1960 and a house in Cardiff in 1971.
He left a holographic will, which was undated save for bearing the year ‘2012’. It was signed but there was no attestation clause. It did not provide for the appointment of an executor. The deceased’s estate was valued at £2,750,753, including three houses, one in Montenegro, one in Cardiff, and ...
Lucian Freud (the deceased) achieved international recognition as an outstanding painter and draughtsman, and he acquired considerable wealth over the course of his long and successful life. His final will was dated 10 May 2006 (the 2006 will), superseding his previous will of 25 June 2004 (the 2004 will). Both wills were professionally drafted. His residuary estate, after payment of legacies and inheritance tax, was estimated at around £42m.
The claim was brought by the claimants under CPR Part 8 in their capacity as executrices of the deceased’s final will. The first cl...
The testatrix, T, died on 1 September 2011 leaving an estate with a net value of £680,805. Her will, dated 2 February 2001, included provision for a nil rate band legacy for her children and grandchildren under clause 5 which stated:
‘MY TRUSTEES shall set aside out of my residuary estate assets or cash of an aggregate value equal to such sum as is at the date of my death the amount of my unused nil rate band for inheritance tax and to hold the same for such of the following as shall survive me.’
The residue was left to the first defendant, the Woodland Trust ...