Couples: What Constitutes Reasonable Financial Provision?

In the UK, there’s a long-established principle that individuals are entitled to leave their estate to anyone they choose. However, under the Inheritance Act 1975 (Inheritance Act), certain people can challenge the terms of a Will if they can demonstrate that their loved one’s Will has left them without “reasonable financial provision”. Those eligible to […]

The Importance of Capacity When Making Your Will

Assessing a client’s testamentary capacity is crucial for lawyers drafting wills. This is known as their ‘testamentary capacity’. If the client is elderly or ill or doubts their capacity, how a practitioner establishes this is very important. Since the ’70s, it’s become best practice to assess a person’s capacity by obtaining an assessment from a […]

EU Property and Forced Heirship Rules

In the post-Brexit world, the EU Succession Regulations are still relevant to those who own property in the UK and an EU member state (bound by the Regulation). Many European countries operate (in varying forms) reserved or forced heirship rules. It’s conservatively estimated that over 1.5 million Brits still own property in France or Spain, […]

Buying a house – leasehold or freehold?

Buying a house – leasehold or freehold? There’s a lot to keep track of when buying a house, including understanding whether you own or rent the land you are buying sits on. In England and Wales, this will either be a freehold or a leasehold. Things got a little more complicated when the government proposed […]

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