The Importance of Wills

Following our article on the well publicised case of Ilott v Mitson (20 October 2015) in which Mrs Ilott successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal and received £163,000 from her mother’s estate despite not being named as a beneficiary under the Will, our Wills and Probate team has seen a considerable increase in clients wishing to update their wills.

In summary, Mrs Ilott was brought up solely by her mother following the death of her father before her birth.  At 17 Mrs Ilott left home to live with Mr Ilott without her mother’s approval.  She later married and had 5 children with Mr Ilott but her relationship with her mother never improved.  Mrs Ilott lived in a housing association property and her family was supported by various benefits.

Mrs Ilott’s mother passed away leaving a Will, supported by two side letters explaining her reasoning, leaving nothing to her daughter or wider family but leaving her estate valued at £486,000 equally between three charities.  The claim was brought by Mrs Ilott under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 which allows, amongst other categories, children of the deceased to bring a claim upon the estate for reasonable provision.

It was found that Mrs Ilott should not be penalised for a lack of expectation of receiving anything from her mother’s estate as the charities had no expectation either as the deceased had no previous connection with the charities in her lifetime.  It was also found that the estrangement between the parties should not deprive the appellant of an award.  The appellant’s income, earning capacity and lack of pension contributed to the court’s reasoning that despite Mrs Ilott being an independent adult child she survived on such a basic level of resources that she was awarded £143,000 to purchase her local authority house.  She was also given the option to receive a further award of £20,000 from the estate to provide extra income without affecting the benefits she receives.

We have seen many clients who are now re-visiting their Wills.  It is daunting to have to plan for your death but by having a Will in place you will save your family unnecessary distress at an already difficult time.  Even if you only have modest assets, a Will enables your estate to be administered in accordance with your wishes and stops the worry and trouble that can often come with dying intestate (i.e. without a Will). 

Writing a Will is especially important if you have children as it gives you the opportunity to appoint guardians.  A number of events can affect who is able to bring a claim against an estate.  Changes in financial circumstances, marriage, cohabiting with a new partner are reasons to make and amend a Will.  Consideration should also be given about making lifetime gifts. It also allows you to achieve tax planning objectives and to consider protecting your assets from future care fees.

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If you would like to discuss making a Will, or changes to an existing Will, please contact Louisa Shailes on 01603 675655 or email louisa.shailes@rogers-norton.co.uk.

Court of Appeal Reviews Beneficiaries’ Rights

Court of Appeal Reviews Beneficiaries’ Rights

 

In the recently well publicised case of Ilott v Mitson,  Mrs Ilott successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal and received £163,000 from her mother’s estate despite not being named as a beneficiary under the Will.  The circumstances of this case are further surprising as Mrs Ilott had been estranged from her mother for the majority of her adult life despite three attempts at reconciliation.

Family Circumstances

Louisa Shailes of our Private Client team explains; “ Mrs Ilott was brought up solely by her mother following the death of her father before her birth.  At 17 Mrs Ilott left home to live with Mr Ilott without her mother’s approval.  She later married and had 5 children with Mr Ilott but her relationship with her mother never improved.  Mrs Ilott lives in a housing association property and her family is supported by various benefits.

Mrs Ilott’s mother passed away leaving a Will, supported by two side letters explaining her reasoning, leaving nothing to her daughter or wider family but leaving her estate valued at £486,000 equally between three charities.

Judgment from Court of Appeal

Peter Hastings of our litigation team comments “The claim was brought by Mrs Ilott under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 which allows, amongst other categories, children of the deceased to bring a claim upon the estate for reasonable provision.
It was found that Mrs Ilott should not be penalised for a lack of expectation of receiving anything from her mother’s estate as the charities had no expectation either as the deceased had no previous connection with the charities in her lifetime. It was also found that the estrangement between the parties should not deprive the appellant of an award.

The testamentary wishes of the deceased has been limited by Parliament as they have “entrusted the courts with the power to ensure, in the case of even an adult child, that reasonable financial provision is made”. The court felt that the limitation on the award for an adult child being limited to provision by way of maintenance was enough to balance the testamentary wishes of the deceased with the needs of the appellant.

The appellant’s income, earning capacity and lack of pension contributed to the court’s reasoning that despite Mrs Ilott being an independent adult child she survived on such a basic level of resources that she was awarded £143,000 to purchase her local authority house. She was also given the option to receive a further award of £20,000 from the estate to provide extra income without affecting the benefits she receives”.

Conclusion

Louisa Shailes adds “Despite the somewhat surprising outcome of the case, it is important to remember that the award made was specific on the facts of this case.  It is clear from the judgment that the court considered all factors set out in Section 3 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants Act) 1975 in making their award and therefore there is no new law in the case.  It does, however, appear to show that the court will consider family members claims despite testamentary wishes and consider their maintenance needs”.

It is always important to consider any potential claims upon your estate despite the general rule that you can leave your estate as you wish.  If you would like to discuss your Will and any of the above issues with one of our private client team, please contact Louisa Shailes (louisa.shailes@rogers-norton.co.uk) and for advice on seeking to challenge a Will, please contact Peter Hastings (peter.hastings@rogers-norton.co.uk).

DIGITAL LEGACIES’ ARE ON THE RISE

When it comes to making a Will, it is quite likely that you will think long and hard about whom you wish to inherit your home, your money and your personal possessions. However, have you ever considered whom you would like to benefit from your digital assets which can include: films, videos, music, e-books and Apps which now are more frequently being stored with the assistance of on-line ‘Cloud’ services.

Recent research carried out by the Centre for Creative and Social Technology (CAST) at the University of London for their ‘Cloud Generation’ report found that just over 1 in 10 of 2,000 British people surveyed had included, or planned to include, internet passwords in their Wills in a trend that CAST have labeled ‘Digital Inheritance’.

With more and more of our data being saved on-line by making use of services run by remote computers, known as ‘Clouds’, rather than being saved direct to a PC, this is an area which is likely to increase over the coming years. However, unfortunately, it is also open to abuse should your security passwords fall into the wrong hands!

Tom Lawrence, Partner and Head of the Wills and Probate Team at Rogers & Norton, said “The reliance placed by most of us on all things technological is showing no signs of slowing down. I am finding more often that clients are looking for sensible solutions to protect on-line assets for themselves and their families in the future. This can be as simple as keeping an up-to-date schedule of internet passwords and usernames with their Will, which can then be stored securely”.

If you would like to discuss this article, or any other matter relating to Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning, please contact Tom Lawrence on 01603 675610, or e-mail tl@rogers-norton.co.uk.

Breaking News from R&N

Promotions as Rogers and Norton strengthens team

 

Partner Amy Walpole has been promoted to head of the firm's family department.  Amy joined the firm in 2002 and qualified as a solicitor in 2003 before becoming a partner of the practice three years ago.  Amy is highly experienced in advising clients on divorce, separation and ancillary relief matters. 

amy.walpole@rogers-norton.co.uk

 

Tom Lawrence, previously an associate with the firm, has become a partner and head of the wills and probate department. Tom joined Rogers & Norton four years ago and specialises in wills, trusts, administration of estates and powers of attorney.  The 2009 edition of the Legal 500 praised him for having “built a reputation for high quality and attentive service”.

tom.lawrence@rogers-norton.co.uk

Managing partner Richard Etheridge said: “We are delighted to announce these two promotions at Rogers & Norton because we attach great importance to nurturing and rewarding talent within our expert team.  Tom and Amy have proved to be industrious, committed and highly able solicitors who we believe will play key roles in the future development and direction of our firm.” 

Founded in 1982, Rogers & Norton has grown from two partners to 12 partners and now has more than 60 fee-earners and support staff. The firm is based in The Old Chapel, Willow Lane, Norwich. 

For further information please contact Amy Walpole on 01603 675604 or Tom Lawrence on 01603 675610.  

www.rogers-norton.co.uk

Tom Lawrence promoted to Associate

R&N are pleased to announce the promotion of Tom Lawrence to the position of Associate within our Private Client Department which takes effect on 1st April 2010.

Tom, who qualified as a solicitor five years ago, joined R&N in 2007 and specialises in wills, probate, trusts, inheritance issues and powers of attorney.

Tom has shown a great commitment both to his clients and the firm since he has been with us and his promotion is richly reserved.

Commenting on his promotion, Tom said “I am delighted, Rogers & Norton is a highly successful and growing firm and it’s great to be part of it.”

Click the following link for an article on Tom's promotion on the Law Society Website - http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/node/54395.

If you would like more information regarding our Private Client department, Tom can be contacted on 01603 675610 or tl@rogers-norton.co.uk.

Rogers and Norton Solicitors coming to a YouTube screen near you

Making best use of all available forms of communication in helping to get your business message across to clients and customers (both new and existing) has always been important and, perhaps, even more so than ever before in view of the current economic climate.

As part of Rogers and Norton’s continuing drive to embrace all forms of up to the minute communication, this week saw Tom Lawrence, who is a Solicitor in our private client team, take part in the first ever BNI meeting in the UK where members “60 second” presentations were digitally recorded to video before being placed on the internet website site YouTube for all to view.

Mark Hambling, who is a partner and member of the marketing development team at Rogers and Norton, said “as a firm Rogers and Norton are committed to utilising all advances in media technology to enhance our communication with our existing and potential clients, contacts and increase access to the legal profession”.