Wills & Probate

Lawyers acting in cases funded by damages-based agreements (DBAs) cannot claim their share of the damages if no damages are awarded, the High Court has clarified

The Ministry of Justice has published its first evaluation of digital services introduced under HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s Reform programme

A leading probate researcher has urged the government to explore ‘safer’ ways to unite long-lost heirs with the estates they are due, following the discovery fraudsters have targeted the Bona Vacantia list

Predatory marriages are exploiting the weaknesses of current wills law: Sarah Everington, Alex Adams & Farida Hindi set out what can be done to safeguard vulnerable adults

Writing in NLJ this week, Sarah Everington, Alex Adams and Farida Hindi of Penningtons Manches Cooper expose how English law enables ‘predatory marriage’—where vulnerable adults are manipulated into marriage for financial gain

Clients are paying more for legal services, but have more pricing transparency and a greater selection of remote options available

The Law Commission has proposed increased protection against undue influence, an end to the ‘automatic revocation’ rule and the introduction of electronic wills

Could we soon be tapping out wills on our phones, ask Brendan Udokoro & Kiera Quinn

Electronic wills—inevitable in a digital era, or an abomination liable to wreak fraudulent chaos? In this week’s NLJ, Brendan Udokoro, associate, and Kiera Quinn, associate (New Zealand qualified), Howard Kennedy, examine the pros and cons, risks and rewards of allowing people to tap out their will on their phone or laptop.

The famous phrase, ‘All rise’, is being changed to ‘All rise, if able’, to be called out by the usher upon the judge or magistrate entering court. NLJ columnist and former district judge Stephen Gold notes, wryly, ‘if there is an usher, of course’.