This category can only be viewed by members.
Just how many of the recent changes to the working practices of the private client practitioner are here to stay? Geoffrey Shindler weighs it up Where were we when we were so rudely interrupted by a pandemic? February seems not only some months ago, but light years away. Which is strange because if the economy …
Continue reading "Musings from Manchester: Witnessing history"
This post is only available to members.
Amanda Noyce examines recent case law to determine whether success fees are recoverable in 1975 Act claims These cases are intrinsically extremely dangerous for lawyers to undertake, particularly since the decision in Ilott. Move over Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; if there was ever a prize for the best opening line, HHJ Gosnell’s comments in …
Continue reading "Inheritance Act claims: The winner takes it all?"
This post is only available to members.
Lucinda Brown and Alexander Morgan discuss the impact of the video-link will The possibility of undue influence being exerted on the testator is a key risk of arranging for a will to be executed by video-link. The government has announced that, in September 2020, it will introduce new legislation in England and Wales to allow …
Continue reading "Wills: A welcome update?"
This post is only available to members.
Personal representatives risk being personally liable if they fail to discharge their duties to creditors. Adam Carvalho and Joseph de Lacey discuss recent judicial guidance on the scope of due diligence It was not clear whether the executors would be able to rely on the protection in s27 in circumstances where, even if no response …
Continue reading "Estate administration: More than remote"
This post is only available to members.
A family investment company is a useful way of preserving a family’s wealth. Eamonn Daly outlines the pros and cons Tax rates on income and gains accumulated within the FIC compare very favourably with those applicable to individuals and trusts. Family investment companies (FICs) were developed just over a decade ago. They have gradually become …
Continue reading "Family investment companies: Keeping it in the family"
This post is only available to members.
Mark Pawlowski considers the interrelationship between proprietary estoppel and secret trusts To what extent is it open to a testator to change their will or revoke the instructions they have given to their secret trustee so as to frustrate the expectations of the secret beneficiary? The answer to this question depends on whether the secret …
Continue reading "Trusts: Hush money"
This post is only available to members.
When is a charity not a charity? When it is a club. Timothy Sherwin explains Practitioners should be careful in the drafting of membership provisions in any charity, and especially those charities which rely on s5 of the 2011 Act, in order to ensure that they do not restrict entry to the membership more than …
Continue reading "Charities: Joined-up thinking"
This post is only available to members.
The use of targeted sanctions by global decision-makers is on the rise. Henry Wickham analyses how this trend affects Jersey trust structures Typically, under a Jersey discretionary trust the legal title to the trust fund vests in the trustee and therefore the concept of ‘ownership’ by a designated person is unlikely to be applicable. Sanctions …
Continue reading "Sanctions and trusts: Avoiding a costly breach"
This post is only available to members.
Laura Abbott looks at the rise in DNA testing in will and trust disputes ‘DNA testing is likely to become more and more commonplace and the courts appear to be more readily inclined to order where consent is not forthcoming.’ Using DNA testing to determine parentage recently hit the headlines when the Belgian King, Albert …
Continue reading "Court powers: Privacy and parentage"
This post is only available to members.
Emily Campbell examines how to calculate the odds of winning a case ‘There is no industry-standard system for evaluating prospects of success. Many lawyers may put themselves in the position of the judge and decide in the first instance whether the client wins or loses.’ Since I started practice in 1995, expressing prospects of success …
Continue reading "Litigation: A calculated risk?"
This post is only available to members.
