Trustees: Duties, powers and responsibilities

Trustees are the legal owners of trust property which they hold on behalf of individuals who are entitled to benefit from the trust property as beneficiaries. A trust can be created by an individual during their lifetime, established under a Will, or created by order of the court. Each trust will have its own rules, usually set out in the Trust Deed, …

Lasting Powers of Attorney and the 2023 Reforms

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows a person (called the donor) to appoint an individual, individuals, or a trust corporation to act as their attorney. The attorney is appointed to act on behalf of the donor to make decisions or complete tasks for the donor. The attorney could be acting under the donor’s instruction …

Guide: Lasting Powers of Attorney

Things to consider when making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA): Decide who you wish to appoint as your Attorney or Attorneys for example your partner and / or children.  Your Attorneys must be over the age of 18 and people who you trust implicitly.  For a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, they must not be bankrupt.  You can appoint …

How much Inheritance Tax do we pay?

The latest HMRC tax receipt monthly bulletin has shown that for the current financial year (April 2023 – January 2024/February 2024) inheritance tax receipts are £6.3 billion. This is £0.4 billion higher than the same time last year (a 7% increase overall). For the financial year of 2022/2023, HMRC reported a record level of inheritance tax receipts and the current financial year is …

Philip Ampoulaila

Paralegal

E: philip.ampoulaila@rothleylaw.com

T: 0330 016 9212

Philip joined Rothley Law from Taylor Rose as a paralegal in September 2023. Philip assists the national Private Client team in all areas including Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and the administration of estates and trusts.

The predatory marriage trap

Introduction The concept of ‘predatory marriage’ has serious and permanent testamentary effects. With an aging population, and legislation in apparent need of reform, the harm caused by predatory marriage seems set only to increase. The term, which may be more familiar to those with experience of Canadian law, refers to an individual ( ‘A’), whose mental capacity is in doubt. …

James v James (2018) Case summary

In this article, Rothley Law, explores the legal action that hit headlines in respect of proceedings being brought by Sam James (“Sam”) against his late father’s estate. The case highlights the complexities of will disputes. The Facts On the facts publically available: Allen James (“Deceased”) executed a Will in 2010 which disinherited his son Sam in favour of his wife and daughters; …

Reform of the Wills Act 1837

REFORM OF THE WILLS ACT 1837 PREDATORY MARRIAGE The widely known concept of predatory marriage has hit the headlines over the last few years, notably its debate as a private members bill in Parliament in 2018, the recent Channel 5 documentary series on probate disputes (2023) and awareness raised by Daphne Franks and Fabian Hamilton MP with the support of …

Til death do us part: predatory marriage and probate

Introduction The concept of ‘predatory marriage’ may not mean a great deal to English lawyers, and certainly not probate practitioners. But it is a phenomenon which can have serious and permanent testamentary effects. With an aging population, and legislation in apparent need of reform, the harm caused by predatory marriage seems set only to increase. The term, which may be more familiar to …

Son successful in farm dispute: proprietary estoppel Gee v Gee and another [2018] EWHC 1393 (Ch)

Summary   In Gee the Claimant was successful in his claim that his father had made longstanding promises to leave the family farm to him.  The court set aside an earlier transaction gifting the farm to his younger brother. The case is a further example of the refinement of the principles set out in Thorner v Major [2009]. What was the case about? As with …