Detailed notes introducing the key concepts of Wills and Administration of Estates.
Includes explanations of the testate/intestacy rules, distribution and the formalities of a will.
These are up-to-date notes used for June 2020 LPC exams.
Particularly useful for section A of the Wills and Adminis...
WAE Section A Revision
Content of WAE:
A – Property passing on death
B – Inheritance tax
C – Administration pre-grant
D – administration post-grant
E – Forms relevant to section C + D
F - Solutions to exercises
Assessment – 10 MCQ’s, open book, online
Testate/Intestate
• If a person has died with a valid will, they are said to have died in testate
• The person who made the will is referred to as the testator
• If a person has died without a valid will, they are said to have died intestate
• Where a person has died intestate, the intestacy rules will determine what happens to
their assets; the statutory provisions for this are: The Administration of Estates Act 1925
(AEA), as amended by the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 (ITPA)
• If the testator has made a valid will but the terms of the will do not dispose of all of the
succession estate, the deceased has died partially intestate. The will is followed but any
property that remains undisposed of passes in accordance with the intestacy rules.
• Partial intestacy usually occurs as a result of ill-drafting
What can be distributed?
It is easier to identify what is excluded from the succession estate (i.e. what cannot be distributed).
If an asset is not specifically excluded, then it will be within the succession estate.
There are 6 types of assets excluded from succession estate:
1. Property held as joint tenants
- If the deceased and another held property as beneficial joint tenant’s, the property will
automatically pass to the remaining joint tenant instantly on death by virtue of the law of
survivorship
- However, if the deceased and another were beneficial tenants in common, the
deceased’s share will form part of their succession estate
2. Insurance policies written in trust
- E.g. life assurance policy – a person will pay a monthly sum which will be given to a
named person upon their death
3. Discretionary Pension Schemes
- A person’s pension may form part of the deceased’s succession estate OR a person
may nominate who will receive their pension (such as a spouse) if they die before
benefiting from their pension, the nominated person will receive the pension
4. Statutory nominations
- Can make a statutory nomination in writing to transfer ownership on death of sums of
money held in certain friendly society bank accounts. This is limited to £5,000
5. Donatio mortis causa (DMC)
- ‘death bed gifts’, the beneficiary must be able to prove this gift has been given
6. Trusts/settlements
- Assets held in trust/settlement from which the deceased benefitted do not usually form
part of the deceased’s distribution estate. The deed that created the trust controls the
destination of the trust property
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