Kelly-Lambo v Lambo [2023] WTLR 255
Spring 2023 #190The claimant and the defendant both claimed to be the surviving spouse of the deceased, who died intestate, and each sought letters of administration of his estate. The claimant denied the defendant had ever married the deceased, and the defendant relied upon a purported certified copy of a Nigerian marriage certificate from 1962, and her own recollection of the ceremony, as evidence of the marriage. The defendant admitted the claimant had married the deceased in Nigeria in 1993, but asserted that they had divorced in 2000 and relied upon a purported order of the Chief Registrar of the L...
McLean & ors v McLean [2023] WTLR 267
Spring 2023 #190The claimants were all siblings and the biological children of Reginald McLean (Reginald), by his first marriage. The defendant was the biological child of Reginald and his second wife, Maureen (the deceased).
By mirror wills executed on 23 June 2017, Reginald and the deceased both left their estates to each other as survivors, and the residuary estate of the surviving spouse to the claimants and the defendant in equal shares (the 2017 wills). Following Reginald’s death, the deceased executed a new will on 16 August 2019 (the 2019 will) revoking her 2017 will and leaving her entir...
Morley v Morley & anr [2023] WTLR 299
Spring 2023 #190In 2007, the claimant gave her father (Ray) a sum of £150,000. The payment was a contribution towards a house (the property) that Ray intended to purchase with his wife, the first defendant.
The claimant alleged an agreement by which, in exchange for the payment of £150,000, Ray would leave his half-share of the property to the claimant and her brother.
The purchase of the property was completed using a TP1 transfer form. The form was signed by the third-party transferor and the box was ticked providing for the transferees, Ray and the first defendant, to hold the property ...
SwissIndependent Trustees SA v Sofer & ors [2023] WTLR 329
Spring 2023 #190The claimant, a Swiss corporation, was the sole trustee of three discretionary trusts named as the Gabri, Puyol & Xavi trusts (the trusts) which had been created via a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company by Hyman Sofer (the settlor) in 2006. The trusts, though expressed to be governed by English law, were set up in Australia and a holding vehicle called the Jordi Unit Trust was used to channel the investments. Neither the settlor nor his children or remoter issue originally figured as settlor and beneficiaries, though they were later added to the classes of ‘Specified Beneficiaries’...
Velutini Perez v Equiom Trust Corporation (UK) Ltd & anr [2023] WTLR 349
Spring 2023 #190Ms Velutini, the claimant, was a 98-year-old woman with very considerable personal wealth, and without any spouse, children or immediate family. This case related to assets in which she was interested and which had been held within trust structures since about 2011, which were said to have a value of between US$30m and US$50m (the assets).
In April 2021, the BCV Foundations Trust (the BCVFT) was formally established in order to replace various trusts formerly in effect. The BCVFT was a revocable English law settlement. In November 2021, Ms Velutini revoked the BCVFT (the revocatio...