Based on the information set out in this Q&A, the EU Succession Regulation (Regulation), Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 is relevant in determining the succession to the testator’s movable property in the UK. For information on the Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 and its application to the UK, see Practice Note: Will drafting—applying the EU Succession Regulation. In deciding

For a single UK company to be a UK real estate investment trust (REIT) in an accounting period, certain conditions need to be met throughout that accounting period by the company (see Practice Note: REITs—the conditions and tests). One of these conditions (Condition E) is that the company may have: • only one class of ordinary shares in issue, and • no other shares in issue other than non-voting restricted preference shares: see section 528(6)–(7) of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (CTA 2010) For these purposes, a restricted preference share is defined

The income will not be taxable if: • it is not remitted to the UK • the individual who is entitled to the income is not deemed UK domiciled, and • the individual is a remittance basis user for the tax year in which the income arose See Practice Note: The remittance basis—summary. Note that the income will be deemed to have been remitted to the UK in certain circumstances (a ‘constructive remittance’). For example, suppose an individual borrows money outside the UK which they remit to the UK. If they use offshore income to repay the loan (outside the UK) then this will likely be a constructive remittance—see Practice Note: The remittance basis—meaning of relevant debt. Note also that there are complicated rules that apply if the income

BREXIT: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 (‘IP completion day’) marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Following IP completion day, key transitional arrangements come to an end and significant changes begin to take effect across the UK’s legal regime. This document contains guidance on subjects impacted by these changes. Before continuing your research, see: Brexit and financial services: materials on the post-Brexit UK/EU regulatory regime [Archived]. No person may carry on regulated activities ‘by way of business’ in the UK unless he is an authorised person or an exempt person: section 22 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000). In the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated

If an overseas company closes a registered UK establishment (which includes a branch of an overseas company; see Practice Note: Overseas companies with an establishment in the UK), it must give notice of that fact to Companies House on a Form OS DS01. There is no specified filing deadline, but the Overseas

Service outside jurisdiction When serving a claim form on a defendant in the United States of America (USA), the permission of the court is generally required. This is because, the court when determining the application for permission will apply the common law to determine whether it has jurisdiction to determine the dispute. Permission of the court is not required if the claim falls within any of the provisions set out in CPR 6.33(2). See further, Practice Note:Cross-border service—is permission required to serve a defendant who is outside England and Wales? Without permission If

Personal representatives (PRs) have a duty to pay the deceased's debts with due diligence, having regard to the assets in their hands that are properly applicable for that purpose and all the circumstances of the case. PRs must discharge the funeral, testamentary and administration expenses and debts and liabilities of the deceased (section 34 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925)). For a solvent estate, therefore, there is no distinction between those liabilities incurred before death and those incurred after death. See: Funeral, testamentary and administrative expenses: Tolley's Administration of Estates [D9.15]. Transfer costs So far as concerns the costs of transferring real property to a specific beneficiary, it is generally thought that this constitutes a testamentary expense to be borne by the residuary estate and not by the beneficiary. The general position for moveable property is that unless there

This Q&A assumes that the new sole trustee which is intended to be appointed is not a trust corporation. It appears from the question that a sole trustee is appointed in a Will, to hold trust property for minors, contingently on each of them attaining the age of 18. There are a number of reasons why the appointment of a sole trustee is either not possible or not practical, including the terms of the trust instrument (which appears to be the Will in this case, unless the legacy is in favour of the trustees of a pre-existing trust). Depending on the terms of the trust in question, a sole trustee is not able to give valid receipts for the sale proceeds of land (see section 34(1) of the Trustee Act 1925

The case of Re Wedmore, Wedmore v Wedmore which held that the forgiveness of debts due to the testator in a Will are a specific legacy. As a matter of general law, a specific legacy is a legacy of something forming part of the testator’s estate, which is by the Will distinguished and separated from the whole of his personal property or from the whole of the general residue of his personal estate. A debt is a chose in action and constitutes

This Q&A assume that the testator was domiciled in England and Wales at the date of death. The Wills Act 1963 applies in Scotland and sets out the requirements for recognition as valid or enforceable in Scotland of a will made in another jurisdiction. Such a will is formally valid if it is either: • properly signed according to the law of

We have assumed that the deceased was resident and domiciled in a part of the UK at the time of death. We have further assumed that other than the lack of signatures of witnesses, the Will complied with all other English law requirements. Attestation Aside from situations where a testator was suffering from mental incapacity, or the Will is privileged, a Will must comply with the formalities set out in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 (below): ‘No will shall be valid unless— (a) it is in writing, and signed

Section 83 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) provides that property which becomes comprised in a settlement pursuant to a Will or on intestacy is taken to have become comprised in it on the death of