Wall v Munday [2018] WTLR 337
Spring 2018 #171W and M were married in 1969 and divorced in 1974. During their marriage, they bought a leasehold property with the proceeds of their former matrimonial home and a mortgage loan for the balance. The benefit of the long lease of the property was conveyed to them as joint tenants. M moved out of the property in 1973 and began divorce proceedings. No steps were taken in the divorce to deal with the ownership of the house, which remained vested in them as joint tenants. After M left the property, W had treated it as his own, insuring, maintaining and improving it and, soon after the divorce,...
Bathurst v Chantler & ors [2018] WTLR 1207
Winter 2018 #170The claimant was the second wife and widow of the Earl Bathurst (Eighth Earl). The first to third defendants were the trustees of the Earl’s Fund (EFT) created under a statutory Codicil made on behalf of the Eighth Earl by the Court of Protection. The fourth to seventh defendants were the trustees of the Earl Bathurst 1963 estate settlement (settlement). When the Earl succeeded to his title in 1943, his inheritance included a large estate comprising 15,000 acres and a mansion house known as Cirencester Park. There were also chattels that included valuable works of art and collections of ...
Blackwell Deceased [2018] WTLR 1243
Winter 2018 #170The applicant, Mr Warner, was the unmarried partner of the deceased. Before her death they had lived together for 19 years at a property in Tewkesbury. Mr Warner continued to live in this property after her death. Mrs Lewis, the daughter of the deceased, brought a claim in the County Court for possession of the property and for the return of certain items under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. Mr Warner defended this claim, and made a separate application for relief under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (‘the 1975 Act’). It was agreed by the pa...
Re DMM [2018] WTLR 1263
Winter 2018 #170DMM suffered from Alzeimer’s Disease. He wanted to marry his long term partner SD. EJ, one of DMM’s three daughters, brought an application for a declaration as to whether DMM had capacity to marry.
Held:
1) The fact that a new marriage revokes a will was information a person should be able to understand, retain use and weight to have capacity to marry. 2) Expert evidence had been produced concluding that DMM Had capacity to marry because he did understand his will would be revoked and the financial position of his three daughters would be affected by that and his marriage. 3...HMRC v Parry & ors [2018] WTLR 1267
Winter 2018 #170Mrs Staveley established a company known as Morayford with her husband Mr Staveley. She was director of the company, and had a large pension fund with its occupational pension scheme. She divorced from her husband in 2000. Indeed the terms of the divorce, her share of the pension scheme was to be transferred to her. In July 2000, and upon advice, she transferred her fund from the Morayford scheme to a s32 scheme.
In 2004, she was diagnosed in December 2004 with cancer. In 2006, by which time her prognosis was poor, she was advised to transfer her pension fund into a personal pensi...
Henchley & ors v Thompson [2018] WTLR 1289
Winter 2018 #170The claimants were the beneficiaries of two trusts created by the late WCC Henchley (‘Settlor’). The NE Henchley Trust (‘First Trust’), dated 1 September 1960, provided for the trust assets to be held upon trust for the Settlor’s wife for life or until remarriage with remainder for such of his children as were then living and if more than one in equal shares. The trust assets, which once included bank accounts and a portfolio of investments, now consisted of the residence of the Settlor’s wife at 395 Cockfosters Road, Whaddon Lodge (‘Property’). By a Deed of Appointment dated 20 November...
James v James & ors [2018] WTLR 1313
Winter 2018 #170The deceased was a self-made man who had operated a farming business and a haulage company in partnership with his wife (the third defendant) and his son (the claimant). Over the course of his life, he purchased a number of parcels of agricultural land in Dorset. In 2007 he gave two of these parcels to one of his daughters (the first defendant). In 2009 the partnership dissolved, and the deceased transferred one of the parcels to himself and the third defendant to hold jointly. At the same time the claimant was given one of the parcels and the haulage business.
The deceased died i...
Miles v Miles [2018] WTLR 1347
Winter 2018 #170The appellant, Matthew Miles, one of the original beneficiaries under the will of the deceased, appealed from the order of district judge Harper dated 16 December 2016. The application before the judge was for reasonable provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 made by Marion Miles, Matthew Miles’ mother. The judge had ordered that all of the deceased’s estate should go to Marion.
There was no appeal from any of the other beneficiaries. It was accepted that the deceased had not made reasonable provision for Marion. The sole issue was as to wha...
Ong & ors v Ping [2018] WTLR 1365
Winter 2018 #170Morgan J had held that the late Lim Lie Hoa (Madam Lim) had until her death in 2009 held the house, its proceeds of sale and other rights relating to it upon the trusts of a settlement dated 14 December 1985 signed by her and by the appellant Ong Siauw Ping (Ping), her son.
Ping had opposed the claim that the house was held upon the declared or any trust. The only issues raised by the appeal were: (i) whether Madam Lim made a declaration of trust in respect of the house; and, if she did, (ii) whether it was ‘manifested and proved’ by the writing requirements of s53(1)(b) of the La...
The Public Guardian v Matrix Deputies Ltd & anr [2018] WTLR 1387
Winter 2018 #170This judgment concerned proceedings brought by the Public Guardian seeking (1) discharge of all appointments of Matrix Deputies Ltd (Matrix) and its employees DW and OM as property and affairs deputy; (2) the refusal of any pending applications; and (3) the appointment of either the local authority or a panel deputy instead.
There was ultimately no contested hearing in this matter. The appointments of OM and DW were discharged and they were discharged from proceedings with their consent. Matrix continued to contest the applications until a matter of days before the final hearing, ...