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Wills update: undue influence & other concerns

22 September 2017
Issue: 6672 / Categories: Legal News , Wills & Probate
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The Law Commission’s proposals on testamentary undue influence are ‘cause for concern’, Jonathan McDonagh, Serle Court, has warned.

Writing in NLJ this week, McDonagh critiques the Commission’s consultation, Making a will, due to close on 10 November. While the Commission has called the law out-of-date, McDonagh says there is no need to scrap it just because it was made by Victorians. On proposed reforms to introduce circumstances where a presumption of undue influence can be applied, he says it is ‘very difficult to see what could be achieved’.

Also in NLJ this week, Alison Regan, partner at Russell-Cooke, asks how far a charity should go to protect a charitable legacy, and the duties of charity trustees, particularly in the high-profile case of animal lover Tracy Leaning.

Geldards’ partner Giselle Davies, and legal executive Ellis Pugh, meanwhile, consider the Fundraising Preference Service, which screens junkmail, and ask if it will alleviate concerns about charity behaviour.

 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

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Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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