Trusts and Estates

The requirements of s9 of the Wills Act 1837 are an essential guard against fraud in relation to the execution of Wills. Often, Wills dispose of property worth millions of pounds, but there is no requirement they be signed in front of a professional..

The current test of testamentary capacity has been established since the familiar Banks v Goodfellow test, a decision which is now 150 years old. The test is as follows:“… that a testator [a] shall understand the nature of the act and its effects;..

The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Glover v Barker [2020] EWCA Civ 1112 gives much welcome guidance on the circumstances in which a litigation friend may be liable for costs. The decision had a complex procedural background.In the 1990s,..

In Marley v Rawlings [2015] 1 AC 129 the Supreme Court held that the principles for the construction of a Will are no different to that of a commercial contract. In the years following this decision a number of lower courts have (perhaps..

This article takes a look at two recent offshore Beddoe applications: the first made in the context of an estate and the second in the more typical trust arena. Although these are offshore decisions the principles considered are likely to be of..

If a settlor transfers property to a trust in which he has no fixed interest, it ceases to belong to him and passes beyond the reach of his creditors as well as the claims of a divorcing spouse. It must then seem rather puzzling and indeed..