Please could you discuss a current legal case that recently caught your attention. Why does this interest you and what are the implications?
After drafting a Centralised Retirement Proposition at [Wealth Management Firm], in which the implications and planning surrounding inheritance were reviewed, I have recently been drawn to the case of Ugolor & Ors v Ugolor [2021] EWHC 686 (Ch). In this case, the executor (Defendant) was removed from his mother’s £1 million estate in a will dispute made by the executor’s three siblings (the Claimants). The reason why this case particularly interested me, was that the Claimants contended that the 2008 Will was invalid and thus their mother’s estate should be distributed in line with the rules of intestacy.
‘Dying intestate’, with no valid will, an estate is divided according to a strict order; highlighting the importance of making a valid will so that one’s wishes are carried out after death. In this case, claims for equal share were successful because the rules of intestacy ensured that anything over £250,000 was divided equally between the children. Under the Inheritance Act 1975, the court can change the estate distribution in favour of the surviving children. Successful inheritance claims are therefore shown to be possible under the rules of intestacy. This case reminded me of the 2015 Court Appeal of Illot v Mitson, which sparked a rise in inheritance claims, demonstrating that even when adult children are deliberately disinherited, it remains possible to challenge the Will of the deceased.
Mishcon’s Victoria Sara-Kennedy (Managing Associate) draws attention to the issue of COVID social-distancing restrictions and valid wills, arguing that wills are more likely to be open to challenge. This is because with a lack of witnesses, due to social distancing, and the added urgency people are facing to create wills, there is the risk that testators may have taken shortcuts and not validly executed the will. Therefore, meaning that they are open to contention.
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