In 2019 insurance company Direct Line released details of a survey which claimed that as many as one in four of us would be prepared to dispute a Will or contest probate.The survey, carried out in July 2018 across the UK, found that residents of Southampton, Norwich and London were the most likely to contest probate or dispute a Will in the event they were unhappy.Furthermore, the insurer outlined how in 2017 there was a six percent rise in the number of contested probate claims and how the number of such cases reaching the High Court had reached a record…

Last month Mr Justice Moor, sitting in the English family court, reached an important decision in the divorce case of Pierburg v Pierburg – between Gisela Pierburg, “the Wife” and Jurgen Pierburg, “the Husband”.The so-called “Eurostar” divorce case concerned a dispute about whether the divorce should be resolved in England or Germany and indeed whether England had jurisdiction to hear the divorce petition.The Wife, believing that she had met the necessary habitual residency test, submitted an English divorce petition on 12 January 2018. Exactly one month later, the Husband issued his German divorce petition in the Berlin-Schoneberg District Court. He…

Francis Bacon famously said that “money is a great servant but a bad master” and over the years this quote has been adapted to fit with the truth of technology; it truly is a great servant but as a master is likely to have significant failings.This is nowhere truer than the legal services market, where technological innovation works to simplify processes and reduce costs. Technology is undoubtedly to the benefit of the user, but when it only serves to frustrate human interaction and to create a feeling of helplessness and automation, it is not the assistance one would hope for.Probate…

In an ideal world, sincerity and good faith would be at the heart of every divorce case. However, when relationships break down it often seems to bring out the worst in divorcing parties, which of course means that, in many cases, it is hard to achieve anything other than agitation, contention and acrimony.And again in an ideal world, divorce lawyers would help divorcing parties understand that although their situation may look less than ideal, the best way to achieve divorce settlement goals is to act reasonably and litigate in good faith.This message was one of the take homes from comments…

Clive Shaw has taken his ageing parents to court, bringing a propriety estoppel claim against them after discovering they had written him out of their Wills.He claims that he worked on his parent’s dairy farm for most of his life, from the age of seven, and that his parents promised him that one day the farm would be his. However, his mother took issue with his partner, Lesley Hollis, calling her a “gold-digger” after a family argument during Christmas in 2016.  His parents also claimed that he had not worked hard enough on the farm and would keep away from…

New research from The Co-Op Insurance shows that home theft claims increase by over a third during the dark winter months, with Friday being the most likely day a theft will occur.With the clocks now having gone back at the weekend, and the autumn equinox now well behind us, there will be more hours of darkness providing criminals with more opportunities to carry out break-ins, burglaries and thefts under the cover of darkness.Here are some simple steps you can take to keep your home safe from potential burglars.Outside the home                     …

The probate process can be complicated, stressful and protracted; with the time it takes to complete the administration largely dependent on the size and complexity of the estate. However, in cases where there may be doubts about the integrity or legality of a Will or how the process is being handled, things can quickly become even more fraught.Losing a family member or other loved one is an inherently emotional time and, for many, this can lead to feelings of extreme reticence when dealing with the deceased’s affairs, even when there might be strong grounds for challenging probate. Fortunately, with the…

Last year, almost a quarter of drivers admitted to using a handheld device while driving to make or answer a call within the previous 12 months. What’s more, 18% admitted to using a mobile phone to check social media and emails or to send a text while driving. These shocking statistics come from the RAC Report on Motoring 2017.In an effort to stop drivers using their phones in the car, Norfolk Council is testing smart road signs that are capable of detecting phone use by picking up radio signals emitted by mobiles phones during a call. If a signal is…

Law firms are failing to make the most of converting callers into clients, with only 1.5% of those firms surveyed following up on the initial call from the prospective client.The Legal Services Communication Report 2018 by Concert is a mystery shopper survey of 30 law firms, with 90 telephone enquiries in total. The purpose was to secure a quotation for work, focusing on three areas – Will writing, residential conveyancing, and debt recovery.Overall, law firms are failing to optimise opportunities. Just 51% of calls were connected with someone who could assist, meaning almost half of all enquiries were not; and…

New research shows that 61 % of British adults do not have a Will. This equates to 30 million people.Populus conducted the research in June this year with a sample of 2,078 adults.  The new figures show a small increase from the 2016 research by Prudential which found that 59% of British adults did not have a Will.Some of the reasons given during the recent research about why people have not made a Will include:Nothing worth Inheriting (38%)Hadn’t considered writing a Will (20%)Too busy to write a Will (16%)The research also found that there are regional differences when it comes…