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04 June 2020 / Nicholas Bevan
Issue: 7889 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
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Where there’s a will; there’s a way

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Is it a misconception that a witness needs to be physically present at a will signing? Dr Nicholas Bevan reports

Life is short and we all take an occasional shortcut now and then. In our private lives we do not hesitate to rely on the trusty sat-nav instead of undertaking the map-reading for ourselves. Some authors might even resort to a tired cliché for their article’s headline!

As busy professionals, most of us will occasionally have substituted a case header for the judgment we know we should have read. Sometimes we adopt the opinion of a trusted commentator, particularly when it is plausible.

However, this kind of referential behaviour can lead us badly astray. Even the most esteemed institutions and authorities, just like our sat-navs, can have a bad day. The present controversy over whether it is possible to execute a valid will over the internet using remote video technology, is a prime example of the blind leading the blind.

There is a near uniform consensus within

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NEWS
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Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
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A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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