Wills & Probate
Wills & Probate Update
A disinherited daughter has won £164,000 challenging her mother’s will. Heather Ilott whose late mother left her whole estate to animal charities has won the six-figure payout in a decision legal experts have said could make wills more open to challenge. The money was awarded to Mrs Ilott by the Court of Appeal following a lengthy […]
Bona Vacantia & Ultimus Haeres
‘Bona Vacantia’ means vacant goods and it is the name given to ownerless property, which by law passes to the Crown. In England and Wales the Treasury Solicitor acts for the Crown to administer the estates of people who die intestate (without a Will) and without known kin (entitled blood relatives). In Scotland where a […]
Rules of Intestacy
New provisions of the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 come into force on the 1st October and they change the way in which a person’s estate is divided if they die without a valid will. If the deceased person has a spouse or civil partner but no children, their surviving partner will inherit everything. […]