Category Archives: Succession
Jack Whiteley, ‘Perpetuities in an Unequal Age’
ABSTRACT For centuries, the common law limited aristocratic wealth. In the last three decades, that has changed. One by one, state legislatures have eliminated the Rule against Perpetuities, and now dynasty trusts can make controlled payments to a settlor’s descendants for hundreds of years. This change occurred soon before a large and ongoing intergenerational wealth […]
‘Royal wills: why the Queen’s is different’
In two previous posts we’ve discussed the fate of the late Prince Philip’s will. Following an application by his executors, the court made an order sealing it up for 90 years. There were questions about how transparent those proceedings were, but the basic rule that his will might otherwise have been open to public inspection […]
Katz, ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll, his English Wills and Scottish Law’
ABSTRACT In Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, much of the action of the story is driven by the belief of Mr Utterson the lawyer that a will made by Jekyll leaving everything to Hyde was a valid will. That belief was caused in turn by Stevenson’s belief that, on […]
Cockburn, Purser, Chan, Crawford, Whyte and Dulleck, ‘A Behavioral Economics Analysis of Will Making Preferences: When to Begin and Who Should Have the Most Input?’
ABSTRACT The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to plan for death, including the transmission of property through a valid will. Surprisingly little is known, however, about when people tend to make wills, how they go about doing so, and whether those practices vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. To begin building a foundation of […]
Garriga Suau and Whytock, ‘Choice of Law for Immovable Property Issues: New Directions In The European Union And The United States’
ABSTRACT In both the European Union and the United States, it is a dynamic period for private international law regarding immovable property issues. The predominant approach has been that these issues are governed by the lex rei sitae – that is, the law of the State where the immovable is located. However, through a comparative […]
Birnhack and Morse, ‘Digital Remains: Property or Privacy?’
ABSTRACT How should the law treat digital remains, namely, digital personal information of deceased people? Two rival conceptions compete over the best framing: property and privacy. Under property framing, digital remains are just another form of assets, subject to succession law; under privacy framing, digital remains are personal data, and upon death, are not part […]
Brown, ‘Doctors’ Commons: the Civilians’ Influence on Equity and Trusts’
ABSTRACT The core of this article lies in its broad examination of the influence that civil law and the now defunct Doctors’ Commons may have had on equity and trusts. Doctors’ Commons was like an Inn of Court for civil lawyers based in England. Historically, these civilian practitioners had a monopoly over certain legal jurisdictions, […]
Moorhouse, ‘Donatio mortis causa: the gift that keeps on giving’
ABSTRACT Applying the doctrine of donatio mortis causa is relevant yet risky. This article takes a deep dive into the risks associated with deathbed gifts and the reasons for their continued relevance in English and Welsh law. € (OUP) Ellie Moorhouse, Donatio mortis causa: the gift that keeps on giving, Trusts & Trustees, Volume 29, […]
Erdos, ‘Digital Death, Digital Assets and Post-Mortem Privacy by Edina Harbinja’
Digital Death, Digital Assets and Post-Mortem Privacy by Edina Harbinja, Edinburgh, 2023, ISBN-13: 978-1-4744-8536-4, 272, £85.00. This highly topical book explores how the law (especially in Europe and America) both does and should address the increasingly large and complex volumes of ‘digital assets’ which are being left online following the death of a natural person. […]
Bedford and Brook, ‘Reform of testamentary capacity: the hidden pitfalls of replacing Banks v Goodfellow with the Mental Capacity Act 2005’
INTRODUCTION Since the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) came into force, a significant debate has arisen as to whether it has and/or should replace the test for testamentary capacity that was first established in Banks v Goodfellow. The courts have, thus far, favoured the survival of the Banks test, although the argument that the MCA […]