BH v JH (costs) [2024] WTLR 403
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2024 #195A deputy had made an application to vary a statutory will and disputed that carers and unidentified charities needed to be served and notified of the same. The Official Solicitor made an application to resolve the dispute on service and the court determined, as argued by the Official Solicitor, that the rules required service of the variation application on carers and unidentified charities but that service on the carers could be dispensed with. The Official Solicitor made an application for the costs of the service issue.
Held:
- (1) Each case must be considered on i...
Benjamin v Benjamin & anr [2024] WTLR 411
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2024 #195The claimant was the child of the first defendant (his father) and the second defendant (his mother). On 5 March 1999, the defendants settled shares in the family company (BPL) on themselves as trustees of a discretionary trust for the benefit of the claimant and his brother and their issue.
The claimant’s case was that the defendants had assured him that half of the family business would eventually pass to him, but that he suspected that something had happened which was inconsistent with those assurances. In March 2021, the claimant requested from BPL’s accountants a copy of its ...
Brealey v Shepherd & Co Solicitors [2024] WTLR 427
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2024 #195A testator appointed as executors her brother, Mr Hayward, and the partners of the defendant, a firm of solicitors. At the time of the testator’s death Mr Shepherd and another solicitor, Mr Smyth, were the only partners in the defendant. Mr Hayward and Mr Shepherd took probate. The will did not contain a charging clause.
The claimant was a residuary beneficiary and the occupant of the testator’s home. The claimant refused to move out and an issue also arose over a loan made by the testator to the claimant. To progress these matters and the administration of the estate, the executo...
Lane v Lane & ors (costs) [2024] WTLR 639
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2024 #195The claims concerned the estate of Monica Lane (the deceased), who died on 8 May 2019. The deceased’s final will was dated 23 February 2013 (the will). By the will the deceased left her son David her ‘share and interest’ in the partnership (the gift), among other assets. The deceased’s daughter Susan (the first defendant) and David were named as executors.
The first defendant had contended that the deceased became permanently incapacitated shortly before her death, causing the dissolution of the partnership. The argument that the gift failed by ademption and fell into residue had ...
Richefond & ors v Dillon & ors [2024] WTLR 253
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2024 #194The first claimant and her co-executors sought to propound a will which was resisted by the first to third defendants. In a previous judgment the Master had determined that the will was valid as to part but the gift of residue to the first claimant failed because the testator did not know and approve of that part in light of his illiteracy and the lack of proper explanation from the will draftsman. The result was that the testator’s home was held on trust for the first claimant’s occupation but the residuary estate passed on the statutory trusts of intestacy between the five defendants.<...
Fellner v Cleall [2022] WTLR 1271
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2022 #189The claimant was the daughter of the deceased. The defendant was said to have been in a relationship with the deceased. The deceased appointed the defendant along with two others as executors of his will. He also devised a freehold commercial property and £75,000 to the defendant. The residue of the estate was to be divided equally between the claimant and her two siblings. The claimant disputed the validity of the will.
On 6 May 2021, after a chain of correspondence, the claimant’s solicitors wrote to the defendant’s solicitors on an open basis setting out various detailed points...
Ingham & anr v Wardman & ors [2022] WTLR 1337
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2022 #189The appellants (the Inghams) appealed against an interlocutory ruling which set aside a privacy order.
In the proceedings below, the Inghams were seeking permission (the permission application) to bring a derivative claim (the derivative claim) on behalf of the estate of their grandmother, the late Elfrida Louise Chappell deceased (the deceased), on the basis that the executors of the deceased’s estate, Butterfield Trust (Bermuda) Ltd and Stephen Kempe (the executors), were unable to bring that claim due to alleged conflicts of interest. The derivative claim would allege that the ...
Laird v Simcock & ors (costs) [2022] WTLR 1365
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2022 #189In an earlier judgment (p1351 of this edition), the court had dismissed the main claim seeking rectification of a deed of appointment made by the claimant and first defendant as executors and trustees of a will trust. The claimant’s position was that there should be no order as to costs, but the court should order that she be indemnified from the estate in respect of her costs. The claimant was neutral in respect of whether the court should order the defendants’ costs be paid out of the estate. The first defendant sought an order that the claimant pay her costs and submitted that the cla...