Vardags was delighted to welcome Simon Sugar from 1 Garden Court to our London office last week to deliver an illuminating seminar on inheritance claims. A leading family law barrister with a background in private client work, Simon has had a great deal of experience handling claims where family and dependents have been left out of wills or... Read More
The Law Commission last week published a new consultation paper urging reform of the law surrounding wills.
The report follows a public consultation in 2013 in which expert evidence raised concerns about guidance on mental capacity and the formalities necessary to make a will.
The Law Commission argue that the law needs to be modernised, noting... Read More
Billie Lourd, the daughter of Carrie Fisher, has been named sole beneficiary of the late Star Wars heroine’s estate. She is due to inherit Fisher’s personal and professional assets save for an extensive collection of memorabilia which will go on auction alongside items belonging to her grandmother, Debbie Reynolds.
Carrie Fisher died on 27th... Read More
Mrs Justice Roberts, sitting in the Family Division of the High Court, found last week against a wife attempting to argue that her husband had set up a sham trust in order to deny her of tens of millions of pounds in their high net worth divorce and financial remedy proceedings. Though this case is by no means revolutionary, it is nevertheless... Read More
The eldest child of the late Robin Neville, the 10th Baron Braybrook will not inherit her father's title or estate due to the laws of succession and a centuries old will. Lord Braybrook passed away at the age of 88 last week, leaving behind seven daughters, none of whom will stand to inherit the 17th century family seat, Audley End in Essex.... Read More
The recently bereaved relatives of Alan Thicke are mired in a messy dispute over the late Canadian actor and songmaker's estate. Thicke died suddenly of natural causes last December, leaving his two eldest sons, actor Brennan Thicke and singer Robin Thicke, co-trustees of a living trust he had created in 1988.
According to the brothers, Mr... Read More
The annual total of inheritance in the UK will rise from the current level of £69 billion to £115 billion by 2027, according to new research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) for estate administration firm Kings Court Trust. Individual inheritances, it projects, will balloon by 47 percent, with the average bequest rising... Read More
A controversial probate fee rise which would see bereaved families shelling out as much as £20,000 before they could inherit has been halted ahead of the June general election. The proposed changes would raise the administrative fees, which have to be paid before the estate of a deceased person can be administered, from a fixed cost of... Read More
A controversial probate fee rise which would see bereaved families shelling out as much as £20,000 before they could inherit has been halted ahead of the general election in June.
The proposed changes would raise the administrative fees, which have to be paid before the estate of a deceased person can be administered, from a fixed cost of £155... Read More
A new report published by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments has suggested that a new Government plan to raise £300m by hiking up probate fees is beyond the authority of the Ministry of Justice.
The reforms of the current regime of fixed fees for non-contentious probate applications due to come in next month, will see the see the... Read More