The use of DNA testing to determine parentage has an important impact on determining entitlement under Wills, trusts and claims under the Inheritance Act 1975. In recent years it has been increasingly used to resolve estate disputes. In most cases it will be undertaken with the consent of the relevant parties.

A Midlands law firm has promoted seven solicitors across a variety of its legal teams as it continues to support the development of talent from within.

Even before the Coronavirus outbreak, you may have wondered “Do I need a Will?” or “I’m too young to write a Will”. Although most people writing Wills in the UK are older than 50, you could write a Will from the age of 18.

Martin Oliver, Partner in our Contentious Probate team, answers the question; is contesting a will ever successful?

We review three farming-related proprietary estoppel cases that resulted in trial before a court in 2023 in order for the parties to achieve a resolution - albeit one imposed by the respective judges.

Immigration was a key topic in 2016’s EU Referendum debate, and became a major selling point for the Leave campaign. Claims that European Courts were ‘attacking our borders’ and that the system was ‘out of control’ played to a view of an EU-driven UK immigration problem that leaving would solve.

New hiked up skill and salary thresholds are set to put the brakes on work-related immigration after the Easter break. Tougher criteria will apply, but as always, it isn’t straightforward, and employers may struggle to make sense of the new landscape. Matthew Davies, Partner and Head of Business Immigration and Tracie Udall, Partner put the latest changes into context and perspective, and set out the key points.

“An Englishman still remains at liberty at his death to dispose of his own property in whatever way he pleases or, if he chooses to do so, to leave that disposition to be regulated by the laws of intestate succession” Re Coventry (deceased) [1980].

We are continuing to see increasing numbers of contentious probate enquiries but what are the practical considerations to think about before embarking on this sort of litigation.

The Parliamentary Group for Inheritance and Intergenerational Fairness has been looking at IHT since February 2019 and has come up with some wide-ranging recommendations including reducing the current 40% inheritance tax rate to 10 – 20%, removing the tax-free CGT uplift on death, and abolishing APR and BPR.