Procedural Developments In Contentious Succession

Contentious wills

The year has seen some interesting substantive law developments in the disputed wills field, most notably the clarification of the appropriate test for testamentary capacity in Re Walker, and more recently, the reining in of the expanded doctrine of Donatio Mortis Causa by the Court of Appeal in King v Chiltern Dog Rescue. Whilst substantive developments are exciting and covered widely in the legal press, it pays not to overlook interesting procedural aspects, which can be used to bolster the litigator's toolkit. There have been a few of note over the last six months...

Taylor v Bell, Leeds County Court, 16 February 2015 provides an unusual example of an application to vary a consent order in relation to a 1975 Act claim. Mr Gardiner's will made no provision for his son, Miles, who therefore applied for reasonable provision under the 1975 Act.  His application was compromised and the consent order provided reasonable maintenance for Miles' sixth