header-logo header-logo

Drafting matters post-Ilott

27 October 2017 / Steve Evans
Issue: 7767 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
printer mail-detail

As the dust settles on Ilott, Steve Evans reflects on what has & what hasn’t changed

  • Freedom of testamentary disposition— what regard is to be had to a deceased’s wishes as forcefully expressed in a written note?

Human interest stories of family squabbles attract media attention, and Heather Ilott’s 13-year legal struggle to receive provision from her estranged mother’s estate certainly excited the media. The litigation culminated in the Supreme Court decision in March of this year in Ilott v The Blue Cross, the RSPB, and RSPCA [2017] UKSC 17, in which the appellant charities succeeded in overturning the Court of Appeal’s award in favour of Mrs Ilott, the estranged daughter of Melita Jackson, who had left all of her estate to animal charities with which she had no particular connection. This was the first time the Supreme Court had considered the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

The media coverage—at times superficial, ill informed, and bordering on hysterical—clearly favoured the charities, and placed great significance on freedom of testamentary disposition. An impecunious daughter

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll