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You may have watched the documentary on Netflix ‘ Anna Nicole Smith: you don’t know me’, or perhaps you’re already familiar with her story? Anna was probably best known in the public eye for being a Playboy model and for marrying the...
Sir Michael Butler died in 2013 and was a collector of 17th-century Ming porcelain and had over 800 individual items estimated to be worth over £8 million. 500 of the items were left to his four children in equal shares by a Deed of...
In the case of Hughes v Pritchard, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the trial judge in the probate claim that Evan Richard Hughes lacked testamentary capacity to create a will in 2016. Instead, all parties would have to revert to the original...
Actress Elizabeth Hurley’s 19-year-old son, Damian Hurley, will not receive any inheritance from a trust fund established by his grandfather, Peter Bing, as she was not married to his late father, Steve Bing, who died in June 2020. Background of the...
Britney Spears’s fight to end her conservatorship has intensified after she made her first public testimony to the court. The controversial conservatorship has been debated by Britney’s fans since it was first granted by the Los Angeles...
Would you like to make a gift in your will & not name them? Secret Trusts vs Discretionary Trusts.
Banks v Goodfellow remains the test for capacity to make a will Following a two-day appeal in the High Court in the case of Clitheroe v Bond [2021] EWHC 1102 (Ch), HHJ Falks has endorsed the decisions of Walker v Badmin [2014] EWHC 71(Ch) and James v...
If you have been excluded from a loved one’s will, or are a beneficiary of an estate who should have received more, you may be able to make a claim against the estate. In a recent case two children, J and H, made a claim against their father’s...
In March 2021, Judge Jarman QC found that three gifts had not been made in contemplation of death in the case of Davey and another v Bailey and others. Background of the case The case concerns the estates of Alan and Margaret Bailey. Both died within...
People often consider a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 when they receive nothing, or not as much as they expected, from a loved one’s estate. What is a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family...
If you are a beneficiary of an estate and someone else is challenging the will or making a claim against the estate, you should seek legal advice on your position if you wish to defend the claim. This is because if their claim is successful it may have an...
You may be considering a claim against the validity of a will, but do not know what you need to establish to be successful. Here at Birkett Long we have a team of specialists who have experience in every way to challenge a will. The validity of a will...
If you were promised larger inheritance than you actually received, you may have an estoppel claim. These claims can be successful where the deceased made a promise to someone, who then relied on that promise to their detriment, but the deceased did not...
Following a 9-day trial in Liverpool, His Honour Judge Hodge QC found that a daughter forged her father’s will. Donald Face, who died in 2017, had three children, Rebeca, Rowena and Richard. Donald originally lived at 18 Wray Crescent in...
The Nottingham Crown Court has announced recently that a deceased’s daughter, Susan Johnson, has pleaded guilty for fraud. After Susan’s mother passed away in 2016, Susan forged her mother’s will by imitating her mother’s signature...
The latest figures released by the court show the number of contentious probate cases continue to rise. These include cases where the validity of a will is being challenged, and claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. It...
The High court has upheld a decision made by the Civil Prosecution Service (CPS). The decision was not to prosecute 3 people accused of changing Reginald Atkin’s will and trying to defraud HMRC. The CPS took the decision not to prosecute...
Forfeiture rule disregarded in a heartbreaking case where the wife was responsible for her husband’s death The forfeiture rule means that you cannot benefit from someone’s death when you were responsible for the person dying. Most people...
In the recent contentious probate case of Clitheroe v Bond, the court overturned the validity of two wills. The Defendant, Sue, who was represented by Birkett Long, was successful in the will dispute on the ground that the Deceased lacked mental...
Hope for success fees in claims against estates under Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Inheritance Act”) are usually made by disappointed...
The High Court has issued a warrant for an executor to be arrested. The executor failed to obey previous court orders requiring him to account for his dealings of his mother’s estate. This case should be a stark warning to executors to comply...
During the coronavirus pandemic, the Court of Protection are prioritising their workload. One type of work they are prioritising is statutory wills for people who have a very short life expectancy. What is a statutory will? These are wills...
The recent case of Guest v Guest is another in the long line of recent proprietary estoppel cases. To be successful with a claim for proprietary estoppel, you must show that: A promise was made You relied on that promise to your detriment The person who...
You may have watched the documentary on Netflix ‘ Anna Nicole Smith: you don’t know me’, or perhaps you’re already familiar with her story? Anna was probably best known in the public eye for being a Playboy model and for marrying the...
Sir Michael Butler died in 2013 and was a collector of 17th-century Ming porcelain and had over 800 individual items estimated to be worth over £8 million. 500 of the items were left to his four children in equal shares by a Deed of...
In the case of Hughes v Pritchard, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the trial judge in the probate claim that Evan Richard Hughes lacked testamentary capacity to create a will in 2016. Instead, all parties would have to revert to the original...
Actress Elizabeth Hurley’s 19-year-old son, Damian Hurley, will not receive any inheritance from a trust fund established by his grandfather, Peter Bing, as she was not married to his late father, Steve Bing, who died in June 2020. Background of the...
Britney Spears’s fight to end her conservatorship has intensified after she made her first public testimony to the court. The controversial conservatorship has been debated by Britney’s fans since it was first granted by the Los Angeles...
Would you like to make a gift in your will & not name them? Secret Trusts vs Discretionary Trusts.
Banks v Goodfellow remains the test for capacity to make a will Following a two-day appeal in the High Court in the case of Clitheroe v Bond [2021] EWHC 1102 (Ch), HHJ Falks has endorsed the decisions of Walker v Badmin [2014] EWHC 71(Ch) and James v...
If you have been excluded from a loved one’s will, or are a beneficiary of an estate who should have received more, you may be able to make a claim against the estate. In a recent case two children, J and H, made a claim against their father’s...
In March 2021, Judge Jarman QC found that three gifts had not been made in contemplation of death in the case of Davey and another v Bailey and others. Background of the case The case concerns the estates of Alan and Margaret Bailey. Both died within...
People often consider a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 when they receive nothing, or not as much as they expected, from a loved one’s estate. What is a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family...
If you are a beneficiary of an estate and someone else is challenging the will or making a claim against the estate, you should seek legal advice on your position if you wish to defend the claim. This is because if their claim is successful it may have an...
You may be considering a claim against the validity of a will, but do not know what you need to establish to be successful. Here at Birkett Long we have a team of specialists who have experience in every way to challenge a will. The validity of a will...
If you were promised larger inheritance than you actually received, you may have an estoppel claim. These claims can be successful where the deceased made a promise to someone, who then relied on that promise to their detriment, but the deceased did not...
Following a 9-day trial in Liverpool, His Honour Judge Hodge QC found that a daughter forged her father’s will. Donald Face, who died in 2017, had three children, Rebeca, Rowena and Richard. Donald originally lived at 18 Wray Crescent in...
The Nottingham Crown Court has announced recently that a deceased’s daughter, Susan Johnson, has pleaded guilty for fraud. After Susan’s mother passed away in 2016, Susan forged her mother’s will by imitating her mother’s signature...
The latest figures released by the court show the number of contentious probate cases continue to rise. These include cases where the validity of a will is being challenged, and claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. It...
The High court has upheld a decision made by the Civil Prosecution Service (CPS). The decision was not to prosecute 3 people accused of changing Reginald Atkin’s will and trying to defraud HMRC. The CPS took the decision not to prosecute...
Forfeiture rule disregarded in a heartbreaking case where the wife was responsible for her husband’s death The forfeiture rule means that you cannot benefit from someone’s death when you were responsible for the person dying. Most people...
In the recent contentious probate case of Clitheroe v Bond, the court overturned the validity of two wills. The Defendant, Sue, who was represented by Birkett Long, was successful in the will dispute on the ground that the Deceased lacked mental...
Hope for success fees in claims against estates under Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Inheritance Act”) are usually made by disappointed...
The High Court has issued a warrant for an executor to be arrested. The executor failed to obey previous court orders requiring him to account for his dealings of his mother’s estate. This case should be a stark warning to executors to comply...
During the coronavirus pandemic, the Court of Protection are prioritising their workload. One type of work they are prioritising is statutory wills for people who have a very short life expectancy. What is a statutory will? These are wills...
The recent case of Guest v Guest is another in the long line of recent proprietary estoppel cases. To be successful with a claim for proprietary estoppel, you must show that: A promise was made You relied on that promise to your detriment The person who...
