In circumstances where the deceased was joint owner of the property in question and the other joint owner(s) has survived, then the legal title to the property will have passed automatically to the surviving registered owner(s) by survivorship. The legal title will not have passed to the deceased's personal representatives (PRs) and so they will not be in a position

It is assumed that: • under the Will trust, the surviving spouse had no absolute current right to direct the trustees to pay the spouse an ascertainable part of the net income or capita of the trust • the surviving spouse was not the sole beneficiary of the Will trust Deed of variation A disposition into a trust can only be varied if all the living beneficiaries are of full age and capacity and join together to

The residence nil rate band (RNRB) is in addition to the basic nil rate band (NRB), which further reduces the inheritance tax (IHT) payable on death. It is applied to the taxable value of the estate, but differs from the basic NRB in that it is restricted to: • the value of a residential property interest • the estate on death, and • the inheritance of lineal descendants The transferable RNRB (or brought forward allowance) is the proportion of unused RNRB which has been transferred from one or more predeceased spouses or civil partners (up to 100% of a full RNRB). The transferable RNRB applies where a person who dies on or after 6 April 2017 has survived at any time, one or more spouses or civil partners. It is based on the unused proportion of the RNRB at the time of the

It is assumed that the partnership in question is governed by the Partnership Act 1890 (PA 1890) Current account A partner's current account in a general partnership is a financial account that records the partner's share of the partnership's profits and any drawings made by the partner. It is distinct from the capital account, which reflects the partner's initial and subsequent capital contributions to the partnership. The current account is credited with undrawn profits, which the partner may withdraw at their discretion unless otherwise agreed by the partners. A partner's interest is determined by one of the following: • the partnership agreement • the profit sharing ratio. HMRC says

If the deceased made a Will which is valid under English law and contains the disputed provisions, the principle of testamentary freedom would be the main obstacle to any attempt to challenge the Will. Furthermore, because the deceased was not domiciled in England and Wales at the time of death, the female heir would be unable to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. See Practice Note: Validity of Wills—foreign element. If the deceased died intestate, succession to his movable property, wherever situated, is governed by the law

The deed of confirmation A deed of confirmation is used to confirm the contents of a missing deed. Normally all parties to the missing deed would be a party to the deed of confirmation. It is important in this context that the question deals with an administrative act of the retirement and appointment of trustees. In the even more serious case of a missing trust deed, application to the court would usually be required: see Re Cleeve Group Pty Ltd [2022] VSC 342 (not reported by Lexis+ UK). Rectification Rectification is an equitable discretionary remedy the purpose of which is to amend a document to record the true intention of the parties which has not been correctly recorded in the relevant

An easement is a right attached to certain (dominant) land to cross or otherwise use someone else’s (servient) land for a specified purpose. The redevelopment of dominant land may result in changes to the use of easements across servient land. ‘Intensification’ will occur when the easement is used in excess of the original rights granted. When dealing with an express grant, the scope of the right will depend on the true construction of the document, and any doubt is usually resolved in favour of the owner of the dominant land as grantee of that right. By contrast where the easement is implied, or arises by prescription, its extent will be a matter of inference. The owner of the dominant land must establish that the right is wide enough to allow the proposed

A lessee can grant an easement limited to their term. The lessee cannot grant an easement

A deed of variation may be made to vary the disposition of an estate made by the deceased’s will or on intestacy. There are further requirements for such a variation to be effective for IHT and CGT purposes (under Inheritance Tax Act 1984, s 142 and Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, s 62 respectively)—including that the deed must also be signed by the personal representatives where the variation results in further tax becoming due. For further discussion on deeds of variation, please see Practice Note: Variation

Deed of variation increasing the demise A deed of variation that increases the extent of the demise will result in an implied or deemed surrender and re-grant of a lease (Friends’ Provident Life Office v British Railways Board). This is because the agreed variation of the terms of the original lease is so fundamental that the law regards it as being wholly inconsistent with the original lease. For further guidance on deemed surrender and re-grant, see: • Practice Note: Surrender by operation of law (implied surrender) • Practice Note: Lease variations—surrender and re-grant issues See also: Practice Note: How to grant more space to an existing tenant—supplemental leases and Precedent: Supplemental lease by reference. If the deed of variation amounts to a surrender and re-grant, as it purports to increase the demise, then: • the existing leasehold title will need to be closed at HM Land

A defendant has a right of appeal from the magistrates' court to the Crown Court following a plea of not guilty against their conviction, sentence or both (section 108(1)(b) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (MCA 1980)). An appeal against conviction can be on points of law or fact and will be a full rehearing of the case including calling all those witnesses on whose evidence they seek to rely (section 79(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (SCA 1981)). As such, the date of conviction is the date of conviction at the Crown Court. The procedure for commencing an appeal against conviction from the magistrates' court is set out in the Criminal

This Q&A considers the service of a claim form in the jurisdiction on a defendant who has not provided an address for service. Is the dispute one under contract? If the dispute is in relation to a matter under a contract which provides for a contractually agreed place for service that address should be used for service (CPR 6.11). See Practice Note: Service of the claim form by a contractually agreed method (CPR 6.11). Service on a prisoner It would appear from the question that there is a possibility that the defendant is still in prison. When seeking to serve a claim form on a prisoner, it is important to know which prison the defendant is being held at. If this information is not known, it is unlikely the prison service will provide