A 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...
The claimant and his sister were beneficiaries of the will of their mother. The defendant, a solicitors’ firm, was instructed by the sole executor to administer the estate. The defendant’s original costs estimate was £10,000-£15,000 plus VAT, but its invoices totalled £54,410.99 plus VAT and expenses. The claimant challenged the fees charged and applied for an assessment under s71(3) Solicitors Act 1973, which a costs judge ordered. The defendant appealed on grounds restricted to Tim Martin Interiors Ltd v Akin Gump LLP [2011], namely, that it was not open to a benefici...
The testatrix by her will appointed her brother, Mr Robin Shepherd (a solicitor), ‘and the partners at the time of my death in the firm of Shepherd and Co [being Mr Shepherd’s firm]’ as her executors. The will made no provision for remuneration of executors. Mr Shepherd’s firm (the appellant) was retained by the executors and the retainer was signed by the brother alone. Mr Shepherd did work in his capacity as executor of the estate of the deceased and the appellant rendered a bill to the estate. The testatrix’s son (the respondent) brought third-party assessment proceedings pursuant to<...
Continue reading "Executors: Do not pass go"
The 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 ...
The claimant at first instance was the widow of the deceased and the personal representative of his estate. The defendants were the deceased’s brother and sister-in-law. The claimant sought declaratory relief, an order for sale and compensation flowing from the defendants’ alleged breach of trust in dealing with land. The defendants defended the claim on the basis of a lack of standing as the claim form had been issued before the foreign grant of probate was resealed in the UK. The defendants appealed the refusal to grant them summary judgment or strike out on this basis.
Continue reading "Executors: When profession counts"
Continue reading "Executors: More than friction"