Fischer v Diffley & anr [2013] EWHC 4567 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | June 2014 #140The claimants were the representatives of Louise Beck (Louise)’s family in Germany. Louise died on 17 January 2011 and the claimants sought a declaration that Louise had died intestate and that the two wills which she had executed on 1 March 2009 (the first will) and 2 May 2010 (the second will) were invalid.
Louise held substantial assets in both England and Germany, mainly comprising real estate and cash. The wills purported to deal with all of her assets in both jurisdictions. If the wills were found to be invalid then the English estate would pass to her surviving niece...
Markou & anr v Goodwin & ors [2013] EWHC 4570 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | May 2014 #139Mrs Eileen Rand died on 4 November 2007 aged 79 having executed two wills during her lifetime – one dated 20 June 2007 and the other 18 December 1969.
Mrs Rand had two siblings – Horace (known as Bill) and Derek. Bill married twice, the second time to Mrs Rand’s best friend since school Lillian (known as Pat).
In 1967 at the age of 38 Mrs Rand married for the first and only time to Edward Rand (known as Ted). Ted was already a widower and much older than Mrs Rand. Ted died after 18 months of marriage and left his entire estate including the martial home to Mrs Rand. Ted had...
Re Devillebichot; Brennan v Prior & ors [2013] EWHC 2867 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | December 2013 #135Francois Devillebichot (Francois) died on 3 March 2011. He made a will dated 19 February 2011. The proponents of the will were four of the defendants, while the claimant Mrs Chloe Brennan was Francois’ only child and sole heir under the intestacy rules. The will left £100,000 to Chloe, a studio flat in France to his sister Jacqueline and the residuary estate to his four siblings. After inheritance tax the net estate was £450,000.
Chloe alleged that her father was happy to die intestate in the knowledge that she would inherit his entire estate. Prior to the contested will he had ne...
Re Stolkin; Greaves v Stolkin [2013] EWHC 1140 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | December 2013 #135The deceased testator, Leslie Stolkin, (T) had two sons from his marriage, the defendant Gary (G) and Mark (M). T divorced their mother in 1989. In September 1997 Pauline Greaves the claimant, (P), also divorced, moved in with T as cohabitant and became financially dependent on him. In 2001, T executed a will effectively leaving his entire estate to G, and also naming him as sole executor and trustee unless he died before T in which case M, a successful and wealthy businessman, would inherit . The will made no provision for P, but T left some notes directing that she was to receive regul...
Tociapski v Tociapski [2013] EWHC 1770 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | December 2013 #135The claimant and defendant are the two sons of Mr Igor Tociapski (the deceased), who died on 12 March 2010 and had made a will dated 20 June 2007 and a later will dated 13 May 2009 (the 2009 will). The 2007 will shared the estate between the two sons. The 2009 will gave the entire estate to the defendant. By a transfer dated 12 February 2010 (the transfer), the deceased gave to the defendant a property known as Hillcrest Cottage, in Northamptonshire.
The claimant sought to set aside the 2009 will on the grounds that the deceased did not know and approve its contents alternatively...
In the estate of Constance Rose Simon; Simon v Byford & ors [2013] EWHC 1490 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | November 2013 #134Mrs Constance Rose Simon died on 15 January 2009 at the age of 91. She was the widow of Mr R W Simon, with whom she had four children: namely Jonathan, Robert, Hilary and David. David predeceased his mother on 1 November 2004.
Mrs Simon’s estate consisted of her house in St John’s Wood, London (valued at £1.75m), a flat in Westcliffe on Sea (valued at £262,500), savings and shares (worth £55,000), some land in Malta and 16 shares in R W Simon Ltd (the company).
By Mrs Simon’s will dated 23 March 1978, she had left her entire estate to her four children i...
Re Ashkettle [2013] EWHC 2125 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | October 2013 #133Mrs Louisa Ashkettle (the testatrix) died on 27 September 2007, aged 86. She left two wills dated 2 October 1986 and 18 January 1999. While the 1986 will left everything equally between her two sons (the claimants) and her daughter (the respondent), the 1999 will (the will) left everything to the respondent. The claimants stated that:
- (i) the will was not properly executed;
- (ii) the testatrix lacked testamentary capacity at its execution;
- (iii) the testatrix did not know and approve the contents of the will; and
- (iv) if their assertions at (ii)...
Williams v Wilmot [2012] EWHC 2211 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | September 2013 #132The claimant sought probate of a will of Dr Cecil Monk (the deceased) dated 5 December 2003 by which the deceased left his entire estate to the claimant. The claimant also sought, in so far as it was necessary, an order that the deceased’s later will of 19 January 2007 be pronounced against on grounds of a lack of testamentary capacity and/or a lack of knowledge and approval.
The defendant, who did not appear and was not represented, was formerly engaged in caring for the deceased. He was an employee of a care agency to whom the relevant local authority had contracted out the care...
Hawes v Burgess & anr [2013] WTLR 453
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | April 2013 #128Daphne Burgess, the deceased (D), died in May 2009 aged 80. She had three children: the appellant, Julia (J), and the respondents, Peter (P) and Libby (L). P and the deceased were very close. He organised her finances and in 2006 bought a bungalow for her to live in. It was to remain in his name, but subject to a lease to his mother to give her security. They agreed that she would pay £21,000 towards the cost of a new kitchen and bathroom that she wanted installed. J and P fell out for a number of reasons, mainly connected with the purchase of the bungalow and related arrangements affect...
Marley v Rawlings & anr [2012] WTLR 639
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | May 2012 #119Alfred Thomas Rawlings (H) and Maureen Catherine Rawlings (W) were husband and wife who, on 17 May 1999, signed mirror wills leaving their entire estate to each other or, if the other failed to survive, to the appellant who was treated as their son. The respondents, who were their natural sons, were excluded but stood to benefit on intestacy if the wills were invalid. In the event, by mistake H signed W’s will and W signed H’s will but the error was not noticed then, or on the death of W. It was only noticed after the death of H in August 2006 when a dispute arose as to whether the estat...