Will drafting

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Automated Wills

The Will and attorney maker (WAM) is designed to automate the following eight Lexis+® UK Wills Precedents:

  1. •

    to spouse absolutely, then to children absolutely

  2. •

    fully discretionary

  3. •

    to spouse on flexible life interest trust, remainder to children absolutely

  4. •

    to spouse absolutely, then on discretionary trust

  5. •

    nil rate band legacy on discretionary trust, residue to spouse on flexible life interest trust, remainder to own children absolutely

  6. •

    legacy of business property on discretionary trust, residue to spouse absolutely, then to children absolutely

  7. •

    individual, unmarried, no children

  8. •

    Will—unmarried, divorced, separated with children, no partner

For guidance on how to use the WAM, see Practice Note: WAM key features and FAQs.

Making a Will

When someone dies, it must be established whether they made a Will and whether that Will is valid.

Also, a Will is a key element of any individual's tax planning. Without a Will, the scope for mitigating inheritance tax (IHT) that would otherwise arise on death, is reduced.

While it is possible to alter the provisions of a Will or intestacy to improve

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Latest Private Client News

Bona Vacantia division removes unclaimed estates list amid probate fraud investigation

The government legal department's Bona Vacantia division has temporarily removed its unclaimed estates list from the gov.uk website, following a BBC investigation into an alleged multi-million-pound fraud. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed that this removal is linked to ongoing investigations into fraudulent activity involving the list, which included details of approximately 6,000 unclaimed estates in England and Wales. In addition, bank accounts belonging to several companies associated with the suspected fraud have been suspended. The MoJ has not specified when the list will be restored to public access.

English Court refuses registration of Italian judgment regarding succession (Sidoli v Sidoli)

Private Client analysis: The court held that the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 (FJ(RE)A 1933) could not, or could not usually, be used to register judgments arising out of claims in foreign courts regarding succession. The court therefore refused to register an Italian judgment regarding succession, holding that it fell within the exception in FJ(RE)A 1933, s 4 regarding the ‘administration of estates’. The Italian Court did not have jurisdiction over the estate because it comprised immovable assets in England and because the deceased died domiciled in England so that succession to his moveable assets was governed by English law. Written by Tiffany Scott KC, barrister at Wilberforce Chambers.

Question of the week: Is there any requirement for the majority of the trustees of a charitable trust registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales to be resident in England or Wales?

This Q&A considers the requirements of charity trustees in terms of UK residence.

Court of Appeal confirms FTT approach to determining place of effective management (POEM) for dual resident trusts, ratifying HMRC capital gains assessments (Haworth v HMRC)

Tax analysis: In Haworth and others v HMRC, the Court of Appeal dismissed the taxpayers’ appeal, upholding the First-tier Tax Tribunal (FTT) and Upper Tribunal decisions that the place of effective management (POEM) of Mauritian trusts remained in the UK, meaning that HMRC’s assessments for capital gains were therefore effective. POEM may be distinguished from ‘central management and control’ (CMC) and, as a tie-breaker provision in international tax treaties, only one POEM is to be expected.

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