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.

While trusts are often associated with inheritance planning, they are also an invaluable tool for managing wealth during your lifetime.

Getting – or being – divorced, or ending a civil partnership, is a timely reminder that your will is a living document that, without regular review, can quickly go out of date and give rise to many unintended consequences. If you have will and have left all, or even just some of, your assets to your spouse, that will remains valid throughout the process of divorcing even if you have separated and are living apart. This means that if you die, your spouse will receive whatever assets you have bequeathed them under the terms of your will.

Proprietary estoppel is a legal remedy that permits people who, having been promised land, property or a combination of both (usually a farm) and relied on that promise to their detriment, to bring a claim if that promise is reneged on.

At a recent remedy hearing in the High Court, Armstrong v Armstrong, held to determine the award for a proved proprietary estoppel claim, the judge reinforced the principle outlined in the Supreme Court ruling in Guest v Guest, which focused on the ‘prevention or undoing of unconscionable conduct, not expectation fulfilment or detriment compensation.’

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.

As a general rule, proprietary estoppel claims normally arise after the death of someone who has made a promise to another - only for the latter to discover that the former had reneged on their promise and that, against expectations, they do not stand to inherit the property as promised. The case of Guest v Guest is however, an example of a proprietary estoppel claim being brought by the son against his parents while they were still alive.

The Employment Rights Bill, which was published on October 10, 2024, proposes to make significant changes to UK Employment Law, which will affect both employees and employers. It is said to be one of the most significant “overhauls” of UK Employment Law in decades.