Private Client
Mazur: Law Society advice amid probate and crime concerns
Private client group STEP is to lobby the government to bring probate rules in line with the Legal Services Act 2007 in the wake of the Mazur ruling.
Allegation over solicitor’s role in will “should never have been made”
An allegation that an old woman who owned a farm in Devon signed codicils under the undue influence of a solicitor “should never have been made”, a High Court judge has said.
Solicitor “did not perceive risk” of failing to witness PoA properly
A solicitor who failed to properly witness a power of attorney during the pandemic has received a suspended suspension.
High Court orders will writers to take part in mediation
The High Court has consolidated a negligence claim against a will-writing company with a dispute over the will it drafted, and ordered the company to engage in mediation.
Will writer’s failures help convince judge to find undue influence
Failures by a will-writing company were among circumstantial evidence that led a High Court master to decide a will was made under undue influence.
Applications to block probate rise to all-time high
The final quarter of 2024 saw an all-time high in quarterly applications to block probate in England and Wales, research has found.
Ban for Co-op estate planner over LPA dishonesty
An estate planning consultant at Co-operative Legal Services who falsely confirmed that he had witnessed the signatures on a lasting power of attorney has been banned.
Solicitor who employed banned will writer is suspended
A solicitor who employed a will writer banned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority from working for law firms without its permission has been suspended for a month.
Paralegal jailed for abusing LPAs to steal client money
A paralegal has been jailed for 20 months after stealing £11,500 from clients whose affairs her firm was managing under lasting powers of attorney.
LeO names firms “in public interest” as it publishes first full decisions
The Legal Ombudsman has published three of its final decisions in full for the first time, including the names of the firms involved, arguing that the move increases transparency.
Blog
Beyond PCP: Can regulators and lawyers work better together next time?
Nearly a decade after the Financial Conduct Authority began investigating the car finance industry, the story of the PCP commission scandal is still unfinished.
Accountability has to live within governance, not with one person
The assumption has long been that a COLP or COFA is personally exposed to the consequences of anti-money laundering breaches.
The SRA’s client money reforms: good intentions, questionable execution
On the face of it, the SRA’s plans to tighten protections around client money sounds sensible. The detail, as ever, tells a more complicated story.
