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Tag Archives | Wills

Gill Steel

Government Refuses To Regulate Will Writing

By on May 14, 2013 in Gill's Blog

To-day I am sad to report that the Minister of Justice, Chris Grayling, has refused to accept the Legal Services Board recommendation to regulate Will writing – http://bit.ly/12s94hZ

It is hard to appreciate the kind of evidence which the Minister believes is required to justify the regulation of this most fundamental of legal services. I suspect that it is yet further evidence of the lack of appreciation of the role the legal profession plays in providing services which are in the best interest of the client and not themselves; as opposed to Bankers and supermarkets who supply services in the interests of their shareholders whether or not it is what the consumer requires, as we have seen with the mis-selling scandals.

Mental capacity to make lifetime gifts – Gorjat v Gorjat [2010] EWHC 1537

By on August 27, 2010 in Wills

The perennial difficulty of a person married twice must be to divide his estate fairly between his second wife and the children of his first marriage. This case explores the modern version of this problem – the international family with the deceased a citizen of France but domiciled and habitually resident in England; his children born and resident in France and his second wife Argentinean but domiciled in England. It is particularly difficult when capacity might be called into question through poor health and there is always the old chestnut of ‘undue influence’ to add into the mix.

The nutty problem of contingent pecuniary legacies

By on January 19, 2010 in Wills

An interesting recent thread on the Trust Discussion Forum reveals how easy it is to do what the client asks and believe you have drafted a simple clause which will do precisely what the client wants but yet cause probate mayhem.

Should Will writing be regulated?

By on June 11, 2009 in Wills

The vexed question of whether or not Will drafting should be regulated has dogged the legal world for years. However, as we await deliberations on the regulation of solicitors by Lord Hunt on behalf of the Law Society and the decision of the newly created Legal Services Board on which legal services should be regulated and which need not, it seems timely to re-visit this question. The overwhelming majority of those responding to the poll survey on this website were in favour of regulation.