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Trusts: Who owns what?

Mark Pawlowski examines recent case law on resulting trusts, the presumption of advancement and joint borrowing under a mortgage ‘The court reiterated the view, expressed in Gorman, that prima facie, if the purchase is financed in whole or in part on mortgage, the person who undertook liability for the mortgage repayments, as between joint owners, …
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Contested wills: Beware cultural conventions

The unusual success of an undue influence claim overturning a will and lifetime transfer sheds light on best practice when dealing with clients who do not speak English. Aidan Briggs explains ‘The importance of a language barrier cannot be overstated in relation to the giving of instructions and the taking of advice.’ Cases where the …
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Charities: Tainted gifts

What should charity trustees do when they cannot even give money away? Josh Lewison discusses ‘If the point of the charity is to improve the public standing of the Lecter family, and it can no longer achieve that goal, then there may be nothing to be gained by continuing.’ A number of recent news items …
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Anti-money laundering: Legislation with a ‘chilling’ effect

Mark Dunster and Simon Florance consider lessons from the first private law action brought in the Guernsey courts by a person denied access to assets as a result of a suspicious activity report (SAR) ‘Although Liang is the first decision on a private law action of its kind in Guernsey, no doubt there are many …
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The 1975 Act: The finest of balances

Laura Abbott explores whether ADR should be compulsory in Inheritance Act cases ‘The judge felt that she could not be certain that the intention of the CPR was to impose ADR on parties who do not consent and so she held that the High Court does not have the power to order it.’ An Inheritance …
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Undue influence: Reform needed?

Emily Exton and Rebecca Welman provide a summary of recent undue influence cases and outline their relevance for practitioners ‘It is long established that mere persuasion of the testator which results in a change of mind will not amount to undue influence.’ English law distinguishes between undue influence in the context of lifetime gifts and …
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Musings from Manchester: Making an AML of it

Geoffrey Shindler feels the regulatory burden and calls upon us all to take some responsibility ‘Are we in fact being governed by regulation rather than being governed by what we were trained to do?’ Once upon a time (like you I am sure) I used to bounce out of bed in the morning, eat a …
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Trusts: It will be alright on the Knight

Richard Dew and James Egan give an analysis of the current status of the doctrine of illegality and trusts ‘There are two categories of conduct that count for the purposes of the doctrine of illegality: first, criminal acts; and second, quasi-criminal acts which engage the public interest in some way (such as cases involving dishonesty …
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5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive: Tightening up

Duncan Bailey explains why and how the EU’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive affects private client practitioners ‘The UK is looking to implement the 5AMLD in full irrespective of its status within or outside of the EU as the UK had been actively involved in formulating the Directive.’ If you were anything like me, I yawned …
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Probate: Avoiding deadlock

How can an estate be admitted to probate when there is a caveat in place? Clare Kelly discusses an unusual case which has lessons for the drafting of LPAs ‘In order to progress the administration, it was necessary for the executors to take action to remove the caveat. However, at this point the estate became …
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