April 2018 #195 – Law Journals

Ademption: Common sense prevails

Christopher McNall sets out the lessons from a rare case of ademption ‘Ademption is a process whereby specific testamentary gifts fail because the subject matter of the gift has ceased to be part of the testatrix‘s property at the time of their death.‘ The decision of Norris J, sitting in Manchester as the Vice-Chancellor of …

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Wills: A binding contract

Mark Pawlowski examines the problems associated with mutual wills and suggests some ways of avoiding them ‘Where the subject matter of the mutual wills specifically includes land and a separate will is used for each party, the parties‘ agreement may be potentially void as failing to meet the requirements of s2(1) of the 1989 Act.‘ …

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Trust deeds: Filling in the blanks

Emilia Piskorz considers the weight given to subject matter certainty in a Court of Appeal case ‘Even though the trust deed did not refer to the property, given the correspondence, the reasonable man would conclude that Madam Lim believed that the property was held on the trusts of the deed she executed.‘ In a judgment …

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Capacity: Importance of the golden rule

Kevin Kennedy and Andrew Walls report on the test in Banks v Goodfellow ‘This judgment provides very significant support that the Banks v Goodfellow test is the sole test for the court to apply when judging testamentary capacity post mortem.‘ The High Court in James v James [2018] has ruled that the test in Banks …

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The ‘without prejudice‘ rule: A sacred right?

The Royal Court of Guernsey has dismissed an application to admit privileged communications. Joseph de Lacey discusses ‘In order to test the decision-making process, D applied for disclosure of documents evidencing the decision and the decision-making process, permission to adduce expert evidence as to the trusts‘ value, and permission to cross-examine the trustees.‘ The Royal …

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Book review: Every base covered

Simon Morris reviews a perennial classic on Inheritance Act claims Ross on Inheritance Act Claims (4th ed) Author: Sidney Ross Published by: Sweet & Maxwell Publication date: 22 September 2017 ISBN: 9780414060814 £199.00 Over the course of recent years I have come to consider Ross on Inheritance Act Claims as an indispensable guide to a …

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Musings from Manchester: The power of words

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Geoffrey Shindler takes issue with the use of language by HMRC ‘There is no question that trustees do not have an option not to follow the permission granted to allow registration – it is an offence against the law not to do so. How can HMRC think its credibility is being improved by writing what …

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Court of Protection: A high bar

Patricia Wass outlines a salutary tale for professional deputies ‘The case highlights the clear responsibilities that the court places on a paid professional deputy to fulfil their duties in accordance with the principles set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and the accompanying Code of Practice.‘ For all of those acting as a deputy …

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