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Richard Selwyn Sharpe examines how a gift in contemplation of death is treated in the modern world ‘The gift must be conditional on the donor’s death and is therefore revocable until that event occurs. The donor sometimes expresses the intention in words to the donee that the gift is conditional on death but this is …
Continue reading "Donatio Mortis Causa: The doctrine of giving"
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The Court of Appeal’s decision in Marley v Rawlings was the correct one, as Alexander Learmonth reports ‘The existing cases on s20 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 have already taken rectification about as far as it should go; and there is no scope for using the section to correct other sorts of errors, …
Continue reading "Swapped Wills: Signing your life away"
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Leigh Sagar clarifies the occupation of agricultural property for agricultural purposes ‘Two recent decisions highlight some of the difficulties that are being faced by executors in the area of agricultural property: HMRC v Atkinson and Hanson v HMRC.’ Agricultural property relief is available for transfers of agricultural land and pasture and specified buildings and woodlands …
Continue reading "Agricultural Property Relief: A tale of two farms"
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Thompson v Bee highlights the disputes over rights of way that can arise from inconsistent will drafting, as James Thom QC relates On the death of a landowner who is not intestate, the land will vest in the deceased’s personal representatives. Under the will, the land may be split up and different parcels may be …
Continue reading "Testamentary Grants: Ways and means"
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Nicholas Le Poidevin QC introduces an issue devoted to articles by New Square Chambers ‘Private client work gives rise to a dense variety of disputes hard to match in any other area of legal practice. We hope that readers will find this special issue of the Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal both useful …
Continue reading "Introduction: A choice selection"
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Jane Evans-Gordon discusses the quandaries that can arise on the disposal of a dead body ‘Bodies cannot be bought or sold, stolen, criminally damaged or, as was once tried, seized by creditors.’ Thomas Mann said that ‘It is a fact that a man’s dying is more the survivors’ affair than his own’.Regrettably, while the Lord …
Continue reading "Probate: Body matters"
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Charles Holbech reviews the importance of a medical opinion for the aged or infirm testator ‘Even though the golden rule may not, on close examination, be a golden rule, it does not follow that solicitors would be to safe to disregard it: they should be aware of the risk of a negligence claim should they …
Continue reading "Wills: Has the golden rule lost its lustre?"
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Austin v Woodward clarifies the limits of ‘clerical error’ as a ground for rectification, as Michael O’Sullivan explains ‘Many cases of rectification are effectively uncontested because the solicitor draftsman and their insurers have an interest in the application succeeding.’ The case of Austin v Woodward & anor [2011] concerned an application for rectification of a …
Continue reading "Will Drafting: Proceed with caution"
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In his concluding article Sukhninder Panesar examines the impact of Sinclair Investments Holdings SA v Versailles Trade Finance Ltd & ors ‘Despite the decision of the Privy Council in Reid, there was a considerable body of academic opinion that suggested that a claimant’s right to trace property in equity depended not only on the finding …
Continue reading "Equitable Tracing: A change in English law"
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Amin v Amin is an interesting application of the test in Stack v Dowden, as Sofie Hoffman discusses ‘This article considers only a discrete part of the judgment relating to the determination of the beneficial interests in Kingswood Manor, particularly given the complex family relations, both business and domestic, which were governed by a mixture …
Continue reading "Constructive Trusts: House rules"
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