Private Wealth and Trust Disputes Notes

Court considers the will of the judge who created the ‘Golden Rule’

GOSS-CUSTARD & ANOR V TEMPLEMAN & ORS [2020] EWHC 632 (CH) Following a seven-day trial, judgment was handed down on 28 January 2020 upholding …

Out of time financial provision claims under the 1975 Act - further clarity from the English Court of Appeal?

In the recent case of Begum v Ahmed [2019] EWCA Civ 1794, the Court of Appeal granted permission for the Appellant to bring a claim 12 months out of time …

Confusion in the English High Court over out of time Inheritance Act claims

The English High Court has recently issued two apparently inconsistent judgments in relation to out of time claims brought under the Inheritance …

Where there's a certified copy Will, there's a way? English High Court admits certified copy Will to probate, despite dispute about whether the will-maker had revoked it

In Blyth v Sykes [2019] EWHC 54 (Ch), the English High Court decided that an estate would be administered in accordance with a certified copy of the …

International bank fined by Jersey court for "intermeddling" in assets of an estate

In a recent case in the Royal Courts of Jersey, a bank was fined for not obtaining the necessary authorisation before transferring the assets of a …

ENGLISH HIGH COURT FINDS TRUSTEES WHO RESISTED A CLAIM FOR THEIR REMOVAL NOT ENTITLED TO COSTS FROM THE ESTATE

NEW ZEALAND SOLICITOR/EXECUTOR CAUSES MISTAKE WHICH LEADS TO COURT PROCEEDINGS – IS HE LIABLE FOR THE COSTS?

In Crawford v Phillips [2018] NZCA 351, the New Zealand Court of Appeal decided that, notwithstanding one of the executors of an estate may have made a …

English High Court finds son entitled to family farm based upon proprietary estoppel

In Thompson v Thompson [2018] EWHC 1338, the High Court in London ruled in favour of a son who sought a declaration based on proprietary estoppel that …

New Zealand Court of Appeal grants reverse summary judgment in claims for dishonest assistance against solicitor

In McKay & Ors v Sandman [2018] NZCA 103, the New Zealand Court of Appeal granted a claim for summary judgment in relation to claims brought on the …

REASONABLE FINANCIAL PROVISION CLAIM TRUMPS FINAL WILL EXCLUDING COHABITANT FROM THE ESTATE

The High Court of England and Wales has upheld a claim by a cohabitant of 42 years under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 …

English Court considers grounds for out of time claims for financial provision from estates

In a recent decision, Sargeant v Sargeant [2018] EWHC 8 (Ch), the English High Court considered the circumstances in which the English Court will grant …

“Dishonesty at its highest level and gravity” – when solicitors commit offences against client estates

This blog post will consider a number of recent cases in England where solicitors have been convicted of offences or struck off the register for …