Brown v Stephenson [2013] EWHC 2531 (Ch)

December 2013 #135

The claimant was the owner of a smallholding that comprised a barn known as Capri Lodge (Capri Lodge) and an adjoining three-acre paddock (paddock) and seven-acre piece of woodland (woodland) at Northgate Farm, Morpeth, Northumberland, where she carried on a goat husbandry business then called Dairy Goat Produce. In August 2001 she entered into partnership with the defendant, on terms that he would carry out development works to Capri Lodge to the value of half of its then valuation of £45,000, and that they would carry on as equal partners the business now known as Capri Lodge Products....

Re Devillebichot; Brennan v Prior & ors [2013] EWHC 2867 (Ch)

December 2013 #135

Francois Devillebichot (Francois) died on 3 March 2011. He made a will dated 19 February 2011. The proponents of the will were four of the defendants, while the claimant Mrs Chloe Brennan was Francois’ only child and sole heir under the intestacy rules. The will left £100,000 to Chloe, a studio flat in France to his sister Jacqueline and the residuary estate to his four siblings. After inheritance tax the net estate was £450,000.

Chloe alleged that her father was happy to die intestate in the knowledge that she would inherit his entire estate. Prior to the contested will he had ne...

Tociapski v Tociapski [2013] EWHC 1770 (Ch)

December 2013 #135

The claimant and defendant are the two sons of Mr Igor Tociapski (the deceased), who died on 12 March 2010 and had made a will dated 20 June 2007 and a later will dated 13 May 2009 (the 2009 will). The 2007 will shared the estate between the two sons. The 2009 will gave the entire estate to the defendant. By a transfer dated 12 February 2010 (the transfer), the deceased gave to the defendant a property known as Hillcrest Cottage, in Northamptonshire.

The claimant sought to set aside the 2009 will on the grounds that the deceased did not know and approve its contents alternatively...

Green v Astor & ors [2013] EWHC 1857 (Ch)

November 2013 #134

The judgment concerned the costs of an application by the administratrix of the aforesaid estate (the Maitland Estate) pursuant to CPR, Part 64.2(a). Apart from two charities, there were six beneficiaries of the residuary estate under the will of the deceased. The first defendant, a beneficiary and formerly an executor, was the only of the defendants to oppose the application. The parties’ overall legal costs incurred up to and including the hearing were over £900,000, a staggering figure for an application of this kind, especially where the aspect of the estate in issue was worth ...

Jeffery v Jeffery [2013] EWHC 1942 (Ch)

November 2013 #134

This was a retrial. The original trial in November 2012 was conducted in the absence of the defendant Andrew Jeffrey.

Daphne Jeffrey died in February 2010, aged 76, having divorced her husband David ten days before her death. She had two children – Nicholas and Andrew. She made a will in 2007 appointing Nicholas and Christopher Eyre (a friend left nothing in the will) as her executors and leaving her estate between Nicholas and Andrew’s three children. Prior to that she had made wills in 1982, 2002 and 2004. In 2008 she gifted two properties to Nicholas.

David and Daphne se...

Rainbird & anr v Smith & ors [2012] EWHC 4276 (Ch)

November 2013 #134

Doreen Gertrude Leader (the deceased) executed a will leaving the residue of her estate to her three daughters on the following terms:

‘I give my estate (including any property over which I may have general power of appointment or disposition by will) to my trustees upon trust…

(c) subject thereto hold the residue remaining and the income thereof (“my residuary estate”) UPON TRUST for such of them my daughters, the said JACQUELINE ANNE RAINBIRD JANET JONES of… and GWENDOLINE SMITH of… as shall survive me and if more than one in equal shares absolutely.’

J...

In the estate of Constance Rose Simon; Simon v Byford & ors [2013] EWHC 1490 (Ch)

November 2013 #134

Mrs Constance Rose Simon died on 15 January 2009 at the age of 91. She was the widow of Mr R W Simon, with whom she had four children: namely Jonathan, Robert, Hilary and David. David predeceased his mother on 1 November 2004.

Mrs Simon’s estate consisted of her house in St John’s Wood, London (valued at £1.75m), a flat in Westcliffe on Sea (valued at £262,500), savings and shares (worth £55,000), some land in Malta and 16 shares in R W Simon Ltd (the company).

By Mrs Simon’s will dated 23 March 1978, she had left her entire estate to her four children i...

Schomberg & ors v Taylor & ors [2013] EWHC 2269 (Ch)

October 2013 #133

The testatrix (W) was the second wife of the late Brian Taylor (H) and had two step sons, David (D) and Paul (P), the first and second defendants. She had a sister, Penny, who married the eighth defendant, Mr Bruce Peskin (B), and who had three children, the fifth to seventh defendants, Cindy, Andrew and Dominic (the 2008 beneficiaries). W and H visited Penny and B, until a few years before they died. They stopped doing so after B, who was in financial difficulties, repeatedly pressurised them to obtain financial assistance in relation to a property development and sale. As a result of t...

Walden v Atkins [2013] EWHC 1387 (Ch)

October 2013 #133

In 1971 Michael Walden purchased a property from his grandmother and as part of the agreement she could live in the property for life.

In 1975 he verbally agreed to sell the property to his uncles Dennis and Maurice Walden for £15,000, with £8,000 of the purchase price left outstanding as an interest free loan repayable on the second of Dennis and Maurice to die. This was less than half the property’s actual value. Dennis and Maurice agreed that on their death the house would revert to Michael or his children if he had already died and in the meantime he would pay for all maintena...

Zarrinkhat v Kamal & ors HC12F02461

October 2013 #133

Iranian born Mrs Theodore (the testatrix) died domiciled in England on 18 February 2009. She left a will dated 29 October 2002 which distributed her £573,000 estate primarily between her adult niece and son (the first and fourth defendants). She also left a legacy of £50,000 to her then 51- year-old daughter (Ms Zarrinkhat).

Ms Zarrinkhat did not consider that reasonable financial provision for her maintenance had been made under the will and sought to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the Act). However she attempted to do...