Withers Trust Corporation Ltd v The Estate of Goodman [2024] WTLR 763

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2024 #195

Hannah Goodman died on 14 July 2020. She was survived by her late husband, Adrian, who himself died on 11 June 2022. The claimant was the Withers Trust Corporation, which was the executor appointed by Adrian’s last will, dated 2 November 2020.

The claimant sought an order pursuant to s2 of the Forfeiture Act 1982 that the application of the forfeiture rule to Adrian’s interest in Hannah’s estate and to his interest in jointly owned assets be modified, so as to give Adrian full relief from forfeiture.

In October 2017, Hannah was diagnosed with lung cancer. ...

Ninian v Findlay & ors [2019] WTLR 645

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2019 #175

Mr and Mrs Ninian were married in 1983 when he was aged 49 and she was aged 28. They had a long and loving marriage but had no children or dependents. Thirty years later, when he was aged 80, Mr Ninian was diagnosed with a progressive incurable disease, Progressive Supra-nuclear Palsy. In about August 2016, without his wife’s knowledge or assistance, Mr Ninian contacted Dignitas as he had evidently decided to end his life before his disease entered the final stages. When he told his wife of his decision, she tried to dissuade him from going through with his plan. Mr Ninian was resolute i...

Assisted suicide: The last word

Recent case law sets out the position of the courts and the expected role of Parliament on assisted suicide. David Foster discusses ‘The Court of Appeal felt that there was no doubt that Parliament was a far better body than the courts for determining the difficult policy issue in relation to assisted suicide in view …
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R (on the application of Conway) v The Secretary of State for Justice [2018] WTLR 597

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2018 #172

The Appellant, Mr Conway, suffered from terminal motor neurone disease. He sought a declaration under s4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 that s2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961, which makes assisted suicide a criminal offence, disproportionate interferes with his right to respect for his private life under Art8 of the ECHR.

At first instance, Mr Conway put forward four main arguments:

1. The ‘blanket ban’ on the provision of assistance for suicide constituted an interference with his Art8(1) rights in a way which is disproportio...