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Agreements between beneficiaries and the forfeiture rule

Re Peace – the latest judgment in a sensitive area of case law

A recent unreported decision of the High Court provides some helpful clarity in relation to the effectiveness of agreements between beneficiaries in estates affected by the forfeiture rule, such as in cases involving assisted dying. In a decision concerning the estate of the late David Peace, Deputy Master Bowles confirmed that the forfeiture rule can be waived by agreement where all interested beneficiaries are capacitous adults. This provides helpful reassurance to personal representatives that they can safely administer an estate in accordance with such an agreement, even in the absence of a formal application for relief under the Forfeiture Act 1982, or a judicial blessing.

Wills and Estates, Construction and Validity

Are these “the forgeries of jealousy”?

The recent decision of Caroline Shea KC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) in Khatun v Hasan and Another [2025] EWHC 1658 is a rare example of a successful challenge to a will based on an allegation of forgery. From a legal perspective, the judgment contains a discussion of the application of the burden of proof in a forgery claim, the logic of which is questionable and which may need to be reconsidered in future cases. The case is not only illustrative of the sort of factual material which is required for a successful forgery claim, but also as to the effect that major shortcomings in the parties’ procedural approach to probate claims can have on a trial.

Wills and Estates, Construction and Validity, Trusts, Trustee Powers, Duties and Management
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IHT – When does the seven-year period start?

One of the most basic Inheritance Tax mitigation strategies is to make a Potentially Exempt Transfer  and to survive for seven years. It is generally well understood that if there is a reservation of benefit, the seven-year survival period will not start running until the reservation of benefit is removed.

Taxation, IHT

CGT Investors’ Relief

Briefing, CGT

Challenging the validity of a will

Wills and Estates, Family Issues
Briefing

What’s the damage?

The recent decision of Costs Judge Brown in Reeves v Frain and Others [2025] EWHC 185 (SCCO) (“the Costs Judgment”) is a timely reminder for contentious probate litigators to consider their funding arrangements and retainers with care.

Briefing, Family Issues, Formalities and Amendment, Legal Practice

A knotty problem of ordering ADR

In Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust [2004] EWCA Civ 576, the Court of Appeal appeared – controversially – to take the view that a court could not lawfully compel parties to a civil dispute to participate in an alternative dispute resolution process.

Briefing, From the Courts, Legal Practice
Wills and Estates

Profit from folly, don’t participate in it

The “profit rule” is the latest equitable principle to be given a firm shake by those who favour the supposed predictability of common law principles.

Taxation, Wills and Estates

Accessing health records

It is often desirable to obtain copies of a deceased person’s health records for the purpose of advising on the merits of a potential probate claim as defined by CPR 57.1(2)(a).

Family Issues, From the Courts, Legal Practice
Trusts

A decision worth “noticing”

Notice is a familiar and important concept to trust lawyers. Paradigmatically, it is a key component of the defence of bona fide purchaser without notice, which determines whether a person takes a legal property interest subject to, or free from, an equity or equitable proprietary interest of another.

Real Estate, Ownership Arrangements, Trusts, From the Courts, Legal Practice

When is property held in offshore settlements subject to the relevant property regime?

The appellant was the trustee of a settlement known as the Tiodab Trust (the “Trust”). The dispute related to whether Inheritance Tax was payable on the Trust’s 10th anniversary.

Taxation, IHT, Trusts
Taxation

IHT on pensions

Pension funds are generally exempt from Inheritance Tax (IHT) and have increasingly been used as tools for estate planning. Reforms to pensions in 2015 granted pension holders greater flexibility in accessing their savings. Prior to these reforms, most pensioners were required to purchase an annuity and receive a regular income in retirement. The changes allowed individuals to retain their savings in pension funds, drawing on them as needed, or leaving them untouched entirely.

Taxation, IHT, Reliefs, Legislative Changes

Statutory residence test match special

The Statutory Residence Test set out at schedule 45 to the Finance Act 2013 is a series of rules for determining a taxpayer’s residence, replacing, from 6 April 2013, old common law rules.

Taxation, Reliefs
From the Courts

Funeral disputes

On 12 March 2025, HHJ Matthews (sitting as a judge of the High Court) handed down judgment in Patel v Patel [2025] EWHC 560 (Ch). The claim involved a dispute as to the funeral arrangements for Bhikhubhai Patel (“Mr Patel”), who died in December 2024 without leaving clear instructions as to his funeral wishes.

Family Issues, From the Courts

Doctrine of merger does not apply to declaratory judgments

Any lawyer who has issued proceedings which include a claim for declaratory relief will breathe a small sigh of relief following the Supreme Court’s decision in Nasir v Zavarco plc [2025] UKSC 5.

From the Courts, Legal Practice
Real Estate

Uncertainty on net estate in 1975 Act claims

In claims for reasonable financial provision from the estate of a deceased person under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act), section 3 requires the court to have regard to a number of factors. This is often approached as a single exercise – for example in Ilott v The Blue Cross and Others [2017] UKSC 17, Lord Hughes JSC (at paras 23 to 24) considered: (i) whether the will or the position on intestacy, or a combination of both, makes reasonable financial provision for the claimant; and (ii) if not, whether and in what manner the court should exercise its powers under section 2 of the 1975 Act in order to make financial provision for them (section 3(1)).

Wills and Estates, Family Issues, Taxation and Valuation, Trustee Powers, Duties and Management, Legal Practice

Equitable fraud?

Claims to a beneficial interest in property which is held in the sole name of the defendant are often brought on the basis of a common intention constructive trust.

Wills and Estates, Construction and Validity, Formalities and Amendment, Real Estate, Trusts, Trustee Powers, Duties and Management