For the purposes of answering this Q&A, all the original beneficiaries (as defined below) are over 18 years old and have mental capacity in relation to this issue, the new beneficiaries (as defined below) are individuals and there are no unusual provisions regarding dividends in the articles of association of the relevant company or companies. The beneficiaries entitled to the shares under the Will are the ‘original beneficiaries’. The beneficiaries benefitting under the deed of variation are the ‘new beneficiaries’. Income arising on legacies Common law rules apply to govern who is entitled to the income arising from assets passing under the Will of a testator. These are set out in Practice Note: Payment of legacies. Where the shares in question were given to the

As a matter of English law, the beneficiaries of a deceased person’s estate are entitled to alter the disposition of the whole or part of the estate, whether it passes under the deceased’s last Will or the intestacy rules (as set out in Parts III and IV of the Administration of Estates Act 1925). A variation must be made by deed and can be made either during the administration of an estate or after the assets have been distributed. If the deed of variation is executed within two years of the deceased’s death and complies with section 142 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) and section 62(6)–(10) of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (TCGA 1992), the variation will be treated for tax purposes as if it had been effected by the deceased on their death. In answering

This Q&A refers you to: Probate and administration applications—Checklist—When to apply online or by paper. With effect from 11 January 2021, it is mandatory for professionals to submit most straightforward probate applications using the online process rather than by paper. See: Non-Contentious Probate (Amendment) Rules 2020 (NCPAR 2020), SI 2020/1059. The list of exceptions, where it continues to be permitted to use the postal application process as an alternative to the online process, is contained in NCPR 1987, SI 1987/2024, Sch 3 and includes all applications for grants of letters of administration, letters of

Section 121(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 gives the court power of its own motion to call in a grant of probate or administration where it appears that the grant ought not to have been made, or that it contains an error, and, if satisfied that it would be revoked at the instance of a party interested, to revoke it. Except in exceptional circumstances, a grant may be revoked by a district judge or registrar under the Non-Contentious Probate Rules (NCPR 1987), SI 1987/2024, r 41 only on the application

The Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 (NCPR 1987), SI 1987/2024, r 31 governs grants to attorneys. NCPR 1987, SI 1987/2024, r 31(1) states that: ‘…the lawfully constituted attorney of a person entitled to a grant may apply for administration for the use and benefit of

A claim under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 (LR(MP)A 1934) is a claim on behalf of the estate of the deceased to recover damages owed to the deceased. The claimant must have the right to bring this claim. Where a Will exists, the office of executor derives from the testator's Will and so the claim vests immediately upon the death in the deceased’s executor and the claimant

Power of court to revoke the grant The court has the power to revoke both grants of probate and letters of administration. See section 25(1)(b) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (SCA 1981). Other relevant provisions dealing with revocation of grants include: • the court can at its own instance revoke the grant. If it appears to the High Court that a grant either ought not to have been made or contains an error, the court may call in the grant and, if satisfied that it would be revoked at the instance of a party interested, may revoke it: SCA 1981, s 121(1). Even if a grant cannot be called in, it can still be revoked: SCA 1981, s 121(2) • on an application to add a personal representative (PR) under SCA 1981, s 114(4) (where there is only one

Regulation 12 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102, provides that the award of a public contract by a contracting authority to a separate legal entity under its control may be exempt from the public procurement rules under PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, Pt 2, provided that certain specified conditions are met. Conditions for applying this exemption (also known as the ‘in-house exemption’ or ‘Teckal exemption’), include the following: • control—the contracting authority (individually or jointly with other authorities) exercises control over the legal person concerned, which is similar to that which it exercises over its own departments • function—more than 80% of the activities of the controlled legal person are carried out in the performance of tasks entrusted to it by the controlling contracting authority/authorities or by other legal persons

Group Litigation Orders (GLOs) are a creation of the CPR; the relevant provisions are in Part III of CPR 19 and CPR PD 19B. As far as the Volkswagen litigation is concerned, an internet search reveals that there is a deadline of 26 October 2018 to join the group register. Information on joining the group register can be obtained from either of the solicitors’ firms appointed as Lead Solicitors: Slater and Gordon 50–52 Chancery Lane London WC2A 1HL emissions@slatergordon.co.uk www.vwemissionsaction.com Tel: 0800 049 7413 Leigh Day Priory House 25 St John’s Lane London EC1M 4LB vwclaims@leighday.co.uk https://www.leighday.co.uk/VWclaim Tel: 0800 689 4049 A claimant may choose to start their own proceedings outside the group litigation. However, the court’s case management powers include

If a tenant remains in occupation at the end of a lease term, it may be inferred that it is remaining either as a: • tenant at will, or • tenant with a periodic tenancy Whether a tenant is a tenant at will or a periodic tenant is of crucial importance, given that a periodic tenancy is capable of being protected under Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), but a tenancy at will is not. If rent continues to be accepted and there are no active negotiations for the parties to enter into a new lease, this

Where a commercial tenancy falls within the provisions of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) (LTA 1954, s 23) then, save for several specified exceptions, such tenancies will (unless there is an express exclusion course) continue on a statutory basis following the expiration of the lease. The tenant further has the right to seek a new tenancy. A landlord who wishes to obtain vacant possession of the premises is therefore obliged, absent agreement with the tenant, to serve a notice under LTA 1954 s 25 seeking the termination of the tenancy on one of the grounds

Under section 212(8) of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004), a ‘tenancy deposit’, in relation to an assured shorthold tenancy, means any money intended to be held (by the landlord or otherwise) as security for: • the performance of any obligations of the tenant, or • the discharge of any liability of theirs arising under or in connection with the tenancy. Accordingly, the definition of a deposit does not turn on the identity of the person who provides the sum of money which is to be held as their deposit. HA 2004, s 213(5) provides that a landlord who has received