Contentious Probate Client Case Summaries
Case Summary 1
We are advising an elderly client whose long
term partner appears to have died without leaving a
Will. Without a Will his considerable estate will be distributed
in accordance with the statutory provisions and,
as he and our client were never legally married, it will pass to
distant family with whom he had little contact. We have advised our
client to assert an equitable interest in the property based on her
financial contributions over a period of time and also to
bring a claim against the estate by virtue of the
Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Case Summary 2
The team has recently
concluded a case which involved a home made Will prepared by a
testator whose assets were valued in excess of £1M and comprised of
land and business assets. Advice was required on behalf of
the deceased’s infant children as to how the terms of the Will
would be interpreted and what steps should be taken to ensure that
they received a fair proportion of the estate. A Court approved
settlement was reached where the infant children would receive a
sum in excess £500,000 to be placed on Trust for them during their
minorities.
Case Summary 3
We have advised one of
the Trustees and potential beneficiaries on the
disputed dissolution of a long established trust for a
prominent landowning family. The Trust’s assets, including land and
antiques were valued at over £4M. This involved advising on
diverse and complicated issues including: breach of trust, land law
including agricultural tenancies, capital gains, inheritance,
income and corporation tax and succession law.
Such issues are
relatively commonplace and, given the large amounts of complex and
often contentious issues surrounding the dissolution of a Trust,
specialist, expert and dedicated advice is invariably required.
Contentious Probate client case
studies