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Wills & Probate Law

LexisPSL Wills & Probate provides a range of procedural and substantive guidance set out in topics that reflect your thought process, both in terms of the underlying issues as well as the different stages of proceedings. Practice Notes set out key principles, supported by the underlying authority, with examples of how these principles apply in practice. Related documents are highlighted to enable quick progression to other documents and further reading links take you through to relevant material in LexisLibrary; the research work is done for you.

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Latest Wills & Probate News

Private client, order authorising the sale of a minor’s property (Re Shanavazi)

Private client, order authorising the sale of a minor’s property (Re Shanavazi)

The following Family news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Private client, order authorising the sale of a minor’s property (Re Shanavazi)

Implied revocation by a residuary gift in a Will of a revocable appointment (Equiom (Isle of Man) Ltd v Velarde)

Implied revocation by a residuary gift in a Will of a revocable appointment (Equiom (Isle of Man) Ltd v Velarde)

The following Wills & Probate news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Implied revocation by a residuary gift in a Will of a revocable appointment (Equiom (Isle of Man) Ltd v Velarde)

Probate claim, proprietary estoppel/property claim (Sangha v Sangha)

Probate claim, proprietary estoppel/property claim (Sangha v Sangha)

The following Wills & Probate news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Probate claim, proprietary estoppel/property claim (Sangha v Sangha)

Will set aside despite solicitor following ‘Golden Rule’ and subsequent expert report suggesting capacity (Hughes v Pritchard)

Will set aside despite solicitor following ‘Golden Rule’ and subsequent expert report suggesting capacity (Hughes v Pritchard)

The following Wills & Probate news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Will set aside despite solicitor following ‘Golden Rule’ and subsequent expert report suggesting capacity (Hughes v Pritchard)

Featured Wills & Probate content

Missing persons and presumption of death

Missing persons and presumption of death

Missing persons and presumption of deathThe disappearance of a person does not automatically enable others to take control of that person's affairs or...

Codicils

Codicils

CodicilsCodicils may be used for making any alteration in a Will such as to alter the executors or make changes in legacies, whether by addition or...

Does section 33 of the Wills Act apply where a clause in a Will gives residue to 'such of my children who are alive at the date of my death'. There is no substitution and two of the six children pre-deceased the testator?

Does section 33 of the Wills Act apply where a clause in a Will gives residue to 'such of my children who are alive at the date of my death'. There is no substitution and two of the six children pre-deceased the testator?

Does section 33 of the Wills Act apply where a clause in a Will gives residue to 'such of my children who are alive at the date of my death'. There is...

A Will leaves three pecuniary legacies, free of tax, to the executors and the residue to charity. The amount of chargeable lifetime gifts made in the seven years prior to the death exceed the NRB allowance for the estate. Taking into consideration the legacies made in the Will and the amount of lifetime gifts in excess of the NRB, there will be inheritance tax (IHT) payable. Who is liable for the tax? How is this calculated given that the recipients of those gifts are more than one in number and the amounts gifted all vary?

A Will leaves three pecuniary legacies, free of tax, to the executors and the residue to charity. The amount of chargeable lifetime gifts made in the seven years prior to the death exceed the NRB allowance for the estate. Taking into consideration the legacies made in the Will and the amount of lifetime gifts in excess of the NRB, there will be inheritance tax (IHT) payable. Who is liable for the tax? How is this calculated given that the recipients of those gifts are more than one in number and the amounts gifted all vary?

A Will leaves three pecuniary legacies, free of tax, to the executors and the residue to charity. The amount of chargeable lifetime gifts made in the...

Q&As

An estate has insufficient cash to pay B's pecuniary legacy. Can A, the executor and residuary beneficiary, use their own funds in order to pay B's legacy as an alternative to selling other estate assets, or appropriating them in specie to B?

Pecuniary legaciesA pecuniary legacy is defined in section 55(ix) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925). It can include an annuity and...
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Produced in partnership with Lynne Counsell of 9 Stone Buildings 19th May
Practice notes

Sources of help for solicitors

Sources of help for solicitorsSolicitors Regulation AuthorityThe Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the independent regulatory body of the Law...
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19th May
Practice notes

Definition of a personal representative

Definition of a personal representativeSection 55(1)(xi) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 defines ‘personal representative’ as:‘the executor,...
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19th May
Q&As

What rights does a residuary beneficiary have to challenge a firm’s professional charges for acting in the administration of an estate where the firm was instructed by lay executors who approved the invoice?

What rights does a residuary beneficiary have to challenge a firm’s professional charges for acting in the administration of an estate where the firm...
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Produced in partnership with Oliver Auld of Charles Russell Speechlys LLP 19th May
Practice notes

Probate actions—mutual Wills

Probate actions—mutual WillsThe term ‘mutual Wills’ is used to describe joint or separate Wills made as a result of an agreement between the parties...
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Produced in partnership with Adam Draper of Shoosmiths 19th May
Practice notes

Preparing the application form PA1P/PA1A for probate or letters of administration

Preparing the application form PA1P/PA1A for probate or administration'>letters of administrationFORTHCOMING CHANGE: The postal application forms PA1P...
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19th May
Practice notes

Assent of assets by personal representatives

Assent of assets by personal representativesAssent by personal representativesPersonal representatives (PRs) can transfer assets to beneficiaries in...
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19th May
Practice notes

Variation of Will or intestacy after death—Q&As

Variation of Will or intestacy after death—Q&AsA deed of variation may be made to vary the disposition of an estate made by the deceased’s Will or on...
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19th May
Q&As

Is an application for a grant ad colligenda bona the correct procedure to enable executors to complete a sale of property as agreed by the deceased?

Is an application for a grant ad colligenda bona the correct procedure to enable executors to complete a sale of property as agreed by the...
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Produced in partnership with Lynne Counsell of 9 Stone Buildings 19th May
Q&As

For an infant settlement approval hearing, is there a standard draft order? Is Form N292 applicable for Inheritance Act claims?

For an infant settlement approval hearing, is there a standard draft order? Is Form N292 applicable for Inheritance Act claims?There are specific...
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Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 19th May
Practice notes

Entitlement to a grant for a non-domiciled testator

Entitlement to a grant for a non-domiciled testatorDeceased domiciled outside England and WalesA grant issued in England and Wales will be necessary...
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19th May
Practice notes

Revocation of Will

Revocation of WillRevocation of a WillA Will is revocable at any time during the testator's lifetime. A testator may not revoke their Will in any...
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19th May
Precedents

Warning to caveator

Warning to caveator, Rule 44(5)In the High Court of JusticeFamily Division[The nominated registry as defined by rule 44(15)]To [name] of [address] a...
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19th May
Practice notes

Payment of legacies

Payment of legaciesIdentification of beneficial interestsThe personal representatives (PRs) of an estate must identify:•the beneficiary or...
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19th May
tag iconIn-house
Practice notes

Intermeddling in an estate

Intermeddling in an estateWhat is intermeddling?An individual who performs certain duties which a personal representative (PR) would perform to...
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Produced in partnership with Jenny Bird and Charlotte Kynaston of Macfarlanes 19th May
Practice notes

Failure of gifts—ademption

Failure of gifts—ademptionWhen applying the doctrines of ademption and abatement, a distinction is drawn between specific, general and demonstrative...
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19th May

Most recent Wills & Probate content

Practice notes

Domicile and habitual residence

Domicile and habitual residence11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the...
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Produced in partnership with David Salter of Deputy High Court judge and Recorder 28th Jul
tag iconIn-house
Practice notes

Probate actions—Larke v Nugus requests

Probate actions—Larke v Nugus requestsWhat is a Larke v Nugus requestIn 1959 the Law Society first recommended that where a dispute arises about the...
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27th Jul
Q&As

Issues to consider when you need to access a deceased person's inbox—Intellectual property and technology considerations (Part 1)

Issues to consider when you need to access a deceased person's inbox—Intellectual property and technology considerations (Part 1)Who do the emails in...
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25th Jul
Q&As

Issues to consider when you need to access to a deceased person's inbox—Probate considerations (Part 2)

Issues to consider when you need to access to a deceased person's inbox—Probate considerations (Part 2)Considerations in respect of the deceased...
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25th Jul
Q&As

What rights subsist in a photograph and how can they be transferred? How is a transfer of copyright in a photograph from a deceased person’s estate effected?

What rights subsist in a photograph and how can they be transferred? How is a transfer of copyright in a photograph from a deceased person’s estate...
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25th Jul
Q&As

Can copyright and publication rights be bequeathed on death and how can this be achieved?

Can copyright and publication rights be bequeathed on death and how can this be achieved?Where the owner of copyright in a work leaves a Will, the...
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25th Jul
Q&As

Where a claimant dies during small claims litigation, how should the court be alerted to the death of the claimant whose executor wishes to continue the proceedings? Is there an automatic stay until Grant of Probate or can a hearing proceed without?

Where a claimant dies during small claims litigation, how should the court be alerted to the death of the claimant whose executor wishes to continue...
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Produced in partnership with Daniel Laking of 39 Essex Chambers 23rd Jul
Precedents

Grant letter to Pension Service

Grant letter to Pension Service[name of Pension Service office][address of Pension Service office][enter date]Dear [insert organisation name]The late...
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23rd Jul
Practice notes

Fast find key precedents—probate matter

Fast find key precedents—probate matterMost of the work conducted throughout a probate matter is of a common nature. Consequently practitioners will...
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23rd Jul
Q&As

What is the procedure for making an application under CPR Part 19.8(2)(b)(ii)? Must this application be made at the same time as (and on the same Part 7/8 claim form, as appropriate) as the 'main claim' or is it a discrete application?

What is the procedure for making an application under CPR Part 19.8(2)(b)(ii)? Must this application be made at the same time as (and on the same Part...
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Produced in partnership with Tom Stewart Coats of XXIV Old Buildings 23rd Jul
Practice notes

Will drafting protocols—WIQS, SRA and STEP

Will drafting protocols—WIQS, SRA and STEPThe Law Society’s Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS)The Law Society Wills and Inheritance Quality...
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23rd Jul
Practice notes

WIQS—estate administration protocols

WIQS—estate administration protocolsThe Law Society Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS) was launched in 2013 and operates through a series of...
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23rd Jul
Q&As

The court is closed and/or understaffed due to coronavirus (COVID-19). What should we do where, for example (a) I need to make an emergency application eg for a freezing or other injunction, (b) I need to pay a court fee/other, (c) I need to file and/or issue court documents by a certain deadline (d) documents are due to be served by the court?

The court is closed and/or understaffed due to coronavirus (COVID-19). What should we do where, for example (a) I need to make an emergency...
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Produced in partnership with Daniel Laking of 39 Essex Chambers 22nd Jul
tag iconCOVID-19
Q&As

If an unincorporated association refuses to disclose its membership, who should be named as the defendant in proceedings where the limitation period is about to expire?

If an unincorporated association refuses to disclose its membership, who should be named as the defendant in proceedings where the limitation period...
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22nd Jul
Q&As

Does a Will need to be translated into the testator’s language if they do not understand English as a condition of valid execution?

Does a Will need to be translated into the testator’s language if they do not understand English as a condition of valid execution?Where an individual...
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20th Jul
Q&As

Does the donee of a property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney need to get prior court approval before litigating on behalf of the donor, and what are the implications of failing to do so, for example where the litigation is lost?

Does the donee of a property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney need to get prior court approval before litigating on behalf of the...
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Produced in partnership with James Goldsmith of Cornwall Insight 20th Jul
Q&As

What specific information should be included in the main body of a statutory declaration? And what information should the solicitor provide to the client before the client agrees to continue with a statutory declaration?

What specific information should be included in the main body of a statutory declaration? And what information should the solicitor provide to the...
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20th Jul
Q&As

(A) understands basic English, and with the help of an interpreter, gave (B) instructions for a Will. (A) has said that she will struggle to read a Will in English. (B) can translate the Will into Urdu—but could (A) sign an English version?

(A) understands basic English, and with the help of an interpreter, gave (B) instructions for a Will. (A) has said that she will struggle to read a...
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20th Jul
Practice notes

Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Wills

Coronavirus (COVID-19)—WillsThis Practice Note considers the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Wills and provides answers or guidance...
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20th Jul
tag iconCOVID-19
Q&As

If: (a) a Will creates a life interest trust with the remainder interest contingent on the remainder beneficiary surviving the life tenant, (b) the remainder beneficiary predeceases the life tenant, (c) there is no substitute remainder and (d) there is a gift of residue, would the remainder interest pass under the gift of residue or under the intestacy rules?

If: (a) a Will creates a life interest trust with the remainder interest contingent on the remainder beneficiary surviving the life tenant, (b) the...
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20th Jul

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Section 26 notice—Tenant’s request for a new business tenancy under LTA 1954

Section 26 notice—Tenant’s request for a new business tenancy under LTA 1954

Tenant's request for a new business tenancyThese drafting notes are for use when completing a tenant’s request for a new business tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. They are intended to be used when completing the prescribed form under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, Part 2 (Notices)