Wills & Probate

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’.

This year’s Probate Industry Awards, also known as the Probies, were announced in London last month at a sparkling ceremony hosted by broadcaster Steph McGovern

The application of the forfeiture rule in assisted dying cases: Sukhninder Panesar examines a delicate balancing act for the courts

Average wait times for probate are now just over four weeks, HM Courts and Tribunals Service data published this week shows.