Demystifying Will Formalities

135 year old law firm appoint Family Solicitor as Partner

A secret trust can be used to conceal the identity of the recipient of a legacy. An example would be in the testator’s will it might read ‘I leave £50,000 to John’. On the face of it, this may look like the Testator has left £50,000 to John. However, the Testator has secretly asked John to hold the £50,000 on trust for Simon. As the Will does not make any reference to the trust, no one would know that the £50,000 is being paid to Simon. This can cause problems, as the success of the gift depends on John acting honestly and passing the money onto Simon. There could be problems also if John dies before the Testator. A half secret trust is where the Will creates a trust, but it does not reveal any of the details of who the beneficiaries usually are. The Will would leave the gift to the trustees to hold on trust ‘for purposes already communicated to them’. The existence of these sorts of trusts can create further complications for executors when administrating an estate.  If you require further information please contact our Private Client department on hsamra@blackhams.com or telephone 0121 233 6916.

Understanding Banks vs. Goodfellow | A Guide to Testamentary Capacity and Its Relevance in Modern Contested Probate Cases.

Tenants’ break clauses, giving tenants the right to bring their lease to an end early are becoming increasingly common in commercial leases with the object of giving the tenant a degree of flexibility in relation to their rented premises. It is vital to get things right both when the break clause is being drafted before the lease is granted and when seeking to operate the break. From the tenants’ point of view any conditions attached to their ability to operate the break clause should be kept to an absolute minimum. Landlords will always insist that the rent (and probably other payments) due under the lease must be up to date and that possession of the premises is given up by the break date (which in practice means clearing the property completely) but other conditions such as compliance with all of the other tenant’s covenants in the lease (e.g. the covenant to keep in full repair) should be resisted by the tenant at the negotiation stage. Other considerations are whether the break opportunity is to be a one-off on a specific date or if it will be a “rolling break” which could be operated at any time after a certain date and the length of notice that must be given to the landlord.