Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2022 #189In the main action, the claimant sought to prove a purported will dated 2014. The second and fourth defendants challenged the validity of the will on the grounds first of lack of knowledge and approval and secondly, by a late amendment, of undue influence. That amendment required a substantial amount of further evidence to be filed. In a judgment following trial ([2022] EWHC 159 (Ch), available in the WTLR web reports as WTLR(w) 2022-08) the judge found the 2014 will to be invalid for want of knowledge and approval, but dismissed the claim that it was procured by undue influence. The jud...
The most recent appeal in Rea v Rea has lessons on the procedure to be adopted in helping unrepresented parties present their case at trial in probate claims, a scenario which is becoming more and more common. Lewis Addison explains The judges considered the error made was such that a retrial was necessary, even though …
Continue reading "Probate claims: Caution advised when ‘assisting’ litigants in person"
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Bromley v Breslin [2015] exposes the possible cost consequences of an application under CPR 57.7(5) to challenge the validity of a will. Charles Holbech explains ‘Counsel for Anne requested a determination by the judge, as a preliminary point, as to whether the costs’ protection afforded by CPR 57.7(5) applied to cross-examination of witnesses other than …
Continue reading "Probate Claims: A hard case to make"
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