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2010: the Year of the Will?

26 November 2009 / Michael Tringham
Issue: 7395 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
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Michael Tringham predicts the future for inheritance law

If 2009 was the year of contentious probate, perhaps 2010’s sobriquet will be the Year of the Will.

BBC2 has recruited Sir Gerry Robinson, former chairman of broadcaster Granada, to present Legacy, a 6 x 60-minute TV series intended to help people “confront the emotional dilemmas of writing a will.

Sir Gerry will work alongside a lawyer to guide people through the process and deal with “the taboos of choosing between the people you love”. These include what to do, having remarried, about legacies for step-children. The programme makers were spurred on by research showing that even among the UK’s over-60s, one in four does not have a valid will.

Law Commission reviews intestacy laws

Meanwhile the Law Commission has set a legal cat among some pigeons with its consultation paper reviewing the intestacy laws. Comments are welcome until the end of February next year via the Law Commission’s website: www.lawcom.gov.uk.

The declared intention is to “bring inheritance law up to date

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Partner joins family law team inLondon

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Private client division announces five new partners

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Banking and finance team welcomes partner in London

NEWS
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court after Lord Hodge retires at the end of the year
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are reportedly in the firing line in Chancellor Rachel Reeves upcoming Autumn budget
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