Succession, Wills and Probate, 3rd Edition

Succession, Wills and Probate provides a comprehensive guide to all areas of succession law. It considers the passing of property outside a will as well as dealing with intestate estates. It looks at the nature of wills and gives full details of the capacity and formalities for creating valid wills, including special wills, as well as altering and revoking them. In implementing wills, the principles of construction are dealt with, as well as what happens if a gift fails. There is a comprehensive introduction to the functions and administrative duties of personal representatives, and a substantial chapter covers the highly topical area of family provision. Cases are presented in detail throughout. The student is offered summaries of the mainstream criticisms of each area as an introduction to a more critical approach.

This third edition includes new material on religious wills and expanded coverage of foreign wills. It has been thoroughly updated throughout to incorporate recent case law on capacity, formalities mutual wills, intestacy and undue influence, amongst other areas, and to reflect the considerable developments since publication of the previous edition such as the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and its impact on the Family Provision Act, Lasting Powers of Attorney, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Estates of Deceased Persons Act 2011 and changes to the structure of Inheritance Tax.