Mutual Wills Mutual Wills are Wills executed by at least two individuals as a consequence of an agreement between the parties to create irrevocable interests in favour of ascertainable beneficiaries. Re Dale provides: 'The doctrine of mutual wills is to the effect that where two individuals have agreed as to the disposal of their property and have executed mutual wills in pursuance of the agreement, on the death of the first (“the first executor”) the property of the survivor (“the second testator”), the subject matter of the agreement is held on implied trusts for the beneficiary named in the Wills. The survivor may thereafter alter his will, because a will is inherently revocable,

It has long been the position in financial remedy proceedings that 'formal agreements, properly and fairly arrived with competent legal advice, should not be displaced unless there are good and substantial grounds for concluding that an injustice will be done by holding the parties to the terms of their agreement' (Edgar v Edgar). This principle has only been strengthened by the increased weight now placed on party autonomy in relation to pre-marital agreements since Radmacher v Granatino. Where an agreement has apparently been reached and one party seeks to resile from it in subsequent divorce proceedings, it is possible to make an application to the court for an order

Under section 37 of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925), married persons are to be treated as separate persons for the purposes of ownership of property. That means that the usual rules of joint ownership under a trust apply, whether they own as joint tenants or tenants in common, pursuant to LPA 1925, s 36. Section 6(1)(b) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (LRA 1967) states

We have assumed that the person who is residing in the care home is a permanent resident in the care home and not a temporary resident. The means testing rules for the provision of care services by a local authority are set out in regulations made pursuant to section 14 of the Care Act 2014. The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, SI 2014/2672, Sch 2, specifies categories of capital which are disregarded in an assessment of a claimant’s resources. In the paragraphs below, we refer to the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment

We have assumed that the husband’s interest in possession was an immediate post death interest The practice of HMRC when valuing an individual’s interest in property under a tenancy in common is to apply a discount to the value of the deceased’s share in the property. This is due to the difficulties in selling a share in a jointly-owned property. ‘As a matter of practice, the nature of jointly-owned property results

Where parties divorce, the court has significant powers to make orders relating to the division of matrimonial assets as set out in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973). However the powers of the court extend only so far as is permitted under MCA 1973, and only as between the parties to the proceedings. The court cannot make effective orders binding a third party who is not also a party to those proceedings. Where there is a dispute over the true ownership of an asset, whether by way of a claim by a third party or against a

In answering this Q&A, we have assumed that husband and wife are joint tenants and that wife has registered the lasting power of attorney and has the authority under it to sign documents on behalf of husband. HM Land Registry will require evidence of the original Office of the Public Guardian certified power so they can be satisfied that the document binds the individual on whose behalf it was signed. They will check that the power of attorney: • was validly executed as a deed • was still in force at the date of the document • authorised the attorney to take the action

The beneficial ownership of property in England and Wales can be held as joint tenants (where both parties own the whole, and on the death of one, by virtue of the doctrine of survivorship, the other becomes the sole owner without the interest of the deceased falling into their estate) or as tenants in common, where each has a defined share, which, in theory, they can seek to dispose of as they wish. However, where property is held as beneficial tenants in common, the title will usually contain a restriction preventing the registration of any disposition for money or moneys’ worth without an order of the court (a

In so far as the husband has missed paying spousal maintenance to the wife, she should take enforcement action pursuant to Part 33 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010, SI 2010/2955 (SI 2010/2955, Pt 33). Under FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 33.2, the wife may either specify the remedy sought or to leave it to the court’s discretion; for example, a judgment summons may be sought or an attachment against earnings. It is not possible to register a charge against the husband’s charge which, one assumes, is secured against the wife’s own property. Naturally, if the husband had property of

It has been assumed that there is no mortgage on the property being sold and no mortgage required for the purchase of the smaller property. This response also only deals with the question of beneficial ownership of the land (and not the legal ownership). On a sale and purchase of trust property, the trustees will need to have regard to a number of factors, as detailed in Practice Notes: Administration of trusts—trustee decision making and . Provided that the trustees have properly considered all the relevant issues (including whether they have the necessary powers), they should record their decisions

The assumption is that the land in question is residential freehold property in England or Wales and that there is no tax avoidance. SDLT treatment of the first 40% transaction As explained in Practice Note: Land transactions, chargeable interests and chargeable transactions, a land transaction where there is no chargeable consideration (for which see Practice Note: SDLT chargeable consideration) is exempt from SDLT (known as an exempt transaction). In the alternative, as set out in Practice Note: SDLT—transfers by Will or on intestacy, an acquisition of a chargeable interest in land in or towards satisfaction of a person’s entitlement: • under a will: ◦ by way of an assent (ie pursuant to a specific devise), or ◦ by way of an appropriation (ie in substitution

Data protection implications The company, as controller of the customer’s personal data, must comply with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998) (prior to 25 May 2018) and the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the GDPR) (from the 25 May 2018). The definitions of personal data under both DPA 1998 and the GDPR are wide and may include information such as the customer’s email address. Where a data controller has failed to comply with its data protection obligations, it can give rise to a claim for compensation under DPA 1998, s 10 or Article 82 of the GDPR/Clause 166 of the Data Protection Bill (which is currently before Parliament). In this case, relevant obligations with which the controller must