Wills & Probate

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) published a consultation about how it intends to fully digitise the process for creating and registering LPAs. The consultation period ended on 26 November 2013 and it is expected that the MOJ will make a final decision in 2014 on whether legislation to enable the making of a fully digital […]

It is common knowledge that Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley were successful musicians that were taken from the world too young. Perhaps what you didn’t know, that all three had in common, was that all three celebrities (the oldest being Bob Marley at 36) passed away without making a Will. Surely, given the […]

The Court of Appeal has upheld the High court decision that denied Tony Nicklinson the right to die. The decision confirms the longstanding legal principle that assisted suicide is unlawful. Tony Nicklinson suffered a stroke whilst on a business trip in Athens in 2005 which left him paralysed from the neck down. Mr Nicklinson could […]

We are disappointed to hear the recent news that despite a two year investigation by the Legal Services Board the Government has rejected the advice to make will writing a regulated activity. This is despite comprehensive evidence that the interests of consumers were not being protected. The Legal Services Board recommended that Will Writing was […]

You will remember the case of Tony Nicklinson who died shortly after the High Court ruled that he could not have permission to seek medical help to die. Mr Nicklinson’s widow Jane has the permission of the court to challenge the High Court decision made against doctor assisted death. A local man Paul Lamb has […]

A recent controversial decision has been made by the Court of Protection, after deciding that it is in the best interests of the 61 year old lady to face life threatening surgery. The lady named K for the purposes of this case, suffers from severe schizophrenia and has sadly been diagnosed with having cancer of […]

The late Mr Nicklinson suffered from ‘locked-in syndrome’ as a result of a severe stroke. The disability left Mr Nicklinson extremely disabled, to the extent that he could only communicate through blinking and needed constant care. Mr Nicklinson’s condition was so severe that he was unable to end his own life without assistance from his […]

The government, in what appears to be yet another U-turn has pledged support to a review by economist Andrew Dilnot on the way care is paid for by elderly individuals in our society. This is weeks after Health Secretary Andrew Lansbury said there was no commitment to finding the money to finance the proposals. At […]

Tony Nicklinson, a man paralysed from the neck downwards after suffering a severe stroke while on a business trip to Athens, yesterday lost his High Court case in which he asked the court to allow doctors to end his life without the fear of being prosecuted themselves for doing so. Mr Nicklinson is only able […]

When it rains, it pours. Not only is this expression relevant to the weather that we experienced in June, it also bears some resemblance to the number of controversial health and welfare questions that were brought before the Courts last month. In one case a 32 year old, “intelligent and articulate” yet anorexic woman (known […]

Today, the BBC has published worrying figures, obtained by the Labour party, which suggest that the number of elderly people in England who receive state funded care has fallen by 11 percent over the last two years. The Labour party received 121 responses after asking 153 councils various Freedom of Information questions. The responses showed […]

Only a couple of weeks have passed since various news pages published reports calling for a review of the will making profession. This followed the findings of the Legal Services Consumer Panel which had discovered that large numbers of wills contain simple mistakes or lack clarity, especially when made at home or when drafted by […]