Kelly-Lambo v Lambo [2023] WTLR 255
Spring 2023 #190The claimant and the defendant both claimed to be the surviving spouse of the deceased, who died intestate, and each sought letters of administration of his estate. The claimant denied the defendant had ever married the deceased, and the defendant relied upon a purported certified copy of a Nigerian marriage certificate from 1962, and her own recollection of the ceremony, as evidence of the marriage. The defendant admitted the claimant had married the deceased in Nigeria in 1993, but asserted that they had divorced in 2000 and relied upon a purported order of the Chief Registrar of the L...
SwissIndependent Trustees SA v Sofer & ors [2023] WTLR 329
Spring 2023 #190The claimant, a Swiss corporation, was the sole trustee of three discretionary trusts named as the Gabri, Puyol & Xavi trusts (the trusts) which had been created via a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company by Hyman Sofer (the settlor) in 2006. The trusts, though expressed to be governed by English law, were set up in Australia and a holding vehicle called the Jordi Unit Trust was used to channel the investments. Neither the settlor nor his children or remoter issue originally figured as settlor and beneficiaries, though they were later added to the classes of ‘Specified Beneficiaries’...
Velutini Perez v Equiom Trust Corporation (UK) Ltd & anr [2023] WTLR 349
Spring 2023 #190Ms Velutini, the claimant, was a 98-year-old woman with very considerable personal wealth, and without any spouse, children or immediate family. This case related to assets in which she was interested and which had been held within trust structures since about 2011, which were said to have a value of between US$30m and US$50m (the assets).
In April 2021, the BCV Foundations Trust (the BCVFT) was formally established in order to replace various trusts formerly in effect. The BCVFT was a revocable English law settlement. In November 2021, Ms Velutini revoked the BCVFT (the revocatio...
Boast v Ballardi & ors [2022] WTLR 1203
Winter 2022 #189The claimant issued probate proceedings seeking orders pronouncing against the validity of a will dated 11 June 2013 and in favour of an earlier will dated 15 March 2006. The claimant was the sole executor under both wills, and the sole beneficiary of the earlier will. The later will gave rise to a partial intestacy of residue, under which the defendants were the beneficiaries.
The claimant issued probate proceedings challenging the 2013 will for lack of testamentary capacity. Four defendants had consented pre-action and one had acknowledged service, not contesting the claim. No o...
Clitheroe v Bond [2022] WTLR 1217
Winter 2022 #189Jean Mary Clitheroe (the deceased) had three children, one of whom (her elder daughter) predeceased without issue. The appellant and respondent were her surviving children, the latter of whom was a victim of sexual abuse committed by her father. This had been detailed in letters written by her father and which were used in divorce proceedings by the deceased. The deceased had been profoundly affected by her elder daughter’s terminal diagnosis and death and became estranged from the respondent to the point that she started to maintain, and continued to maintain until her own death, that t...
Fellner v Cleall [2022] WTLR 1271
Winter 2022 #189The claimant was the daughter of the deceased. The defendant was said to have been in a relationship with the deceased. The deceased appointed the defendant along with two others as executors of his will. He also devised a freehold commercial property and £75,000 to the defendant. The residue of the estate was to be divided equally between the claimant and her two siblings. The claimant disputed the validity of the will.
On 6 May 2021, after a chain of correspondence, the claimant’s solicitors wrote to the defendant’s solicitors on an open basis setting out various detailed points...
Fullard v Kershaw & ors [2022] WTLR 1323
Winter 2022 #189The issue before the court was costs in proceedings relating to the estate of Richard Stephen Fullard (the testator), who died on 4 April 2020. By a will dated 20 June 2019 (the will), the testator appointed the following as executors and trustees of his will: the claimant, his son; the first defendant, his friend; the second defendant, his partner; and the third claimant, his daughter. By the will the testator also bequeathed one property to the second defendant, and another property to the claimant and third defendant. He made various pecuniary legacies, including to the first defendan...
Laird v Simcock & ors [2022] WTLR 1351
Winter 2022 #189By his will, the late Robert Simcock created a trust over the sum of £200,000, under which his wife Catherine was to be the life tenant. Subject to that, the capital and income of that trust was to be held on the terms of a discretionary trust of residue also created by the will, the objects of which were Catherine, and Robert’s children and remoter issue.
Solicitors acting for the family determined that only a portion of Robert’s estate would benefit from Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), with the consequence that, absent an appointment from t...
Laird v Simcock & ors (costs) [2022] WTLR 1365
Winter 2022 #189In an earlier judgment (p1351 of this edition), the court had dismissed the main claim seeking rectification of a deed of appointment made by the claimant and first defendant as executors and trustees of a will trust. The claimant’s position was that there should be no order as to costs, but the court should order that she be indemnified from the estate in respect of her costs. The claimant was neutral in respect of whether the court should order the defendants’ costs be paid out of the estate. The first defendant sought an order that the claimant pay her costs and submitted that the cla...
Pile v Pile [2022] WTLR 1445
Winter 2022 #189The parties, who were brothers, held two periodic tenancies as joint tenants: an agricultural tenancy and a commercial tenancy of land at Fir Tree Farm protected respectively under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The appellant and a company of which he and his wife were sole directors and shareholders, F N Pile and Sons Ltd, entered into an agreement with the landlord (the agreement) under which he would serve a notice to quit the agricultural tenancy, the landlord would serve a notice to terminate the commercial tenancy in respe...