Where court proceedings have not been issued, the appropriate action to be taken by A, as executor, will depend on the extent to which the testator’s capacity to make the Will is in doubt and how far C’s challenge to the Will has been taken. The burden of proof of capacity has always rested in the first instance with the person proving the Will. The personal representatives have to prove that the Will is valid. This involves proving that all the necessary

Where registered land is owned jointly, the legal title, if both owners are registered proprietors, is held by the parties as joint tenants, whereas the beneficial title can either be held as joint tenants or tenants in common. In the current scenario, the legal title is only registered in A’s name and therefore A is the sole owner of the legal title to the property and the beneficial interest is held on trust for A and B as tenants

Under section 102 of the Finance Act 1986 (FA 1986), where an individual disposes of any property by way of a gift, it may be treated as subject to a reservation if one of the following conditions applies: • the donee of the property did not take possession of the property and did not enjoy the use of the property at the beginning of the ‘relevant period’, ie a period running from seven years before the death of the donor or, if later, from the date of the gift to the date of that death, or • where at any time in the ‘relevant

Unless there is a break clause, the only way to end an assured shorthold tenancy within the fixed term is by surrender, which may be express or implied, but to which both tenants and the landlord are parties. See Q&A: What are the methods of terminating a joint tenancy during a fixed AST term, where one tenant departs due to domestic abuse and one tenant wishes to remain at the Property? and Practice Note: Lease surrenders. At the expiry of the fixed term, if the tenancy has

If the attorney intends to transfer the freehold title of the property belonging to the donor to their self for no consideration, the transfer of the property would be a gift. There are strict limits on gift giving by an attorney. An attorney’s power under a lasting powers of attorney (LPA) to make gifts is governed by section 12 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005). This provides as follows: • ‘Where a lasting power of attorney confers authority to make decisions about P's property and affairs, it does not authorise a donee (or, if more than one, any of them) to dispose of the donor's property by making gifts except to the extent permitted by subsection (2). • The donee may make gifts— (a) on customary occasions to persons (including himself) who are related to or

A mortgagee in possession has the power pursuant to sections 101 and 103 of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925) to sell a property, ordinarily after taking possession, though this statutory power can be excluded by agreement by the parties. Upon exercising the power of sale, the equitable right of the mortgagor to redeem is extinguished but the mortgagee becomes a trustee of the surplus proceeds of sale for the mortgagor and any other interested parties. If the statutory power of sale is exercised, LPA 1925, s 105 provides that the sale proceeds are to be applied:

Pursuant to section 3(4) of the Charging Orders Act 1979, a charging order ‘shall have the like effect and shall be enforceable in the same courts and in the same manner as an equitable charge created by the debtor by writing under his hand’. Thus, a charging order provides in effect that an unpaid judgment creditor is afforded the status of an equitable charge holder and is afforded some security for the unpaid debt. That being said, judgment creditors are often surprised by the limited protection actually afforded to a charge holder who has entered a standard form restriction on the debtor’s property. In this scenario, you mention that the charge was registered by way of a Form K restriction

Clare Ambrose, Twenty Essex The party’s representative should consult with the witness and the other side. It would be unusual if a solution cannot be achieved by arranging for evidence to be given remotely. This is fairly standard practice. The technical, forensic and logistical disadvantages are manageable. The tribunal

At present, HM Courts and Tribunals Service have confirmed that, generally, the business of the courts and tribunals is continuing. The guidance is that as long as court users do not have confirmed or possible coronavirus (COVID-19) infection or do not need to self-isolate in line with the National Health Service advice, they should continue to use the courts as usual. In the event that they are unable to attend either due to illness or the need to self-isolate, they should contact the court. Can the hearing proceed in the person’s absence? The first point to consider is whether the hearing can proceed without whoever is unable to attend. Depending on the notice given, it may be possible to find alternative counsel or to set up telephone/video-conferencing arrangements, which is something that has been advocated by the Lord Chief Justice. For further guidance, see Practice Notes: • Remote and hybrid hearings

Subject to some exceptions, the benefit of all tenant covenants under a ‘new’ lease ‘shall be annexed and incident to the whole, and to each and every part, [...] of the reversion’ to the premises and ‘shall [...] pass on an assignment

This Q&A is based on the scenario where a landlord accepts a surrender of a lease from its tenant but continues to accept rent until the property is let. However, it is not possible to provide a full answer without a) knowing the full circumstances of the surrender and b) seeing any surrender documents that may exist. For further information on surrendering a lease, see: Lease surrenders—overview. A lease can be surrendered expressly, see Precedent: Deed of surrender. A lease can also be surrendered by operation of law if the conduct of the parties is inconsistent with the continuation of the lease. When an attempted express surrender fails, there will be an implied surrender if the parties have acted upon

What is PACT? PACT stands for ‘professional arbitration on court terms’. It is a joint initiative of the Law Society and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It provides a procedure which permits parties who wish to introduce a renewal lease under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) to submit the resolution of disputes concerning that renewal lease to an independent third party. The independent third party can act as an arbitrator or an independent expert. PACT thus enables parties to avoid disputes