Foodbank Donation December 2022
The staff at Saffron Walden office collected items to donate to Uttlesford foodbank.
More details can be found here: https://uttlesford.foodbank.org.uk/
Archive for month: December, 2022
Christmas Jumper Day 2022
Once again Adams Harrison staff were excited to join in the Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day 2022, and they were all very grateful for the extra layer of clothing due to winter finally arriving with sub-zero temperatures overnight!
We are busy counting the donations made by staff who donned their Christmas jumpers.
This year will be TWICE as good as before because for every £2 donated the UK government promised to give £2 to Save the Children too.
Here is a photo of our staff in Saffron Walden office who got into the Christmas spirit!
Happy Birthday Christine
Christine Gee, our Wills & Probate specialist paralegal in Sawston office celebrates a significant birthday this weekend.
Happy birthday Christine!
We won’t give away your age except to say it has an 0 in it.
Celebrating women in the law over the past 100 years
100 years ago the first woman was admitted to the Law Society of England & Wales.
In fact the following momentous achievements for women all happened in 1922:
• Dr Ivy Williams was the first woman to be called to the Bar in May 1922. She did not practice as a barrister but became the first woman to teach law at an English university.
• Helena Normanton became the first woman to practice as a barrister in England. Helena was called to the Bar in November 1922 and went on to become the first female counsel in cases at the High Court of Justice, and the first woman to obtain a divorce for a client.
• Carrie Morrison became the first woman admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in December 1922. Maud Crofts, Mary Elizabeth Pickup and Mary Elaine Sykes also passed their Law Finals Examination at the same time but Carrie was the first to complete her articles and be admitted to the Law Society Roll.
The fight for equality in the legal profession actually started decades earlier. It was in 1878 that Janet Wood became the first woman to complete a law degree in the UK. Even then women were only permitted to take a ‘Special Exam for Women’ which was offered as an alternative to the men’s degree exam.
Some 100 or more years later the fight for equality in the legal profession continues and every year all women in the profession celebrate new milestones for equality and diversity.
• In 2017 Lady Hale was appointed the first woman President of the UK Supreme Court.
• In 2018 the Supreme Court saw its first female-majority panel hear a case – with Lady Hale, Lady Black and Lady Arden sitting as three out of five judges to hear the case re D.
• In 2019 Elizabeth Johnson became the first female chartered legal executive to be appointed a judge.
At Adams Harrison we are proud of our balance of male and female leaders
In December 2022:
• The firm is owned by an all-female partnership, comprising Shoshana Goldhill; Melanie Pratlett and Jennifer Carpenter. Other partners include Richard Booth and, as of 1st January 2022, we welcome Jack Stewart as a partner.
• Equality and Diversity is integral to our working practices and recruitment plans
• As at December we are made up of:
• Six female and four male qualified lawyers
• Two female unqualified lawyers
• One female and one male trainee solicitors
• One female practice manager
There are more achievements to be made for equality and diversity in the legal profession and we are excited to be part of the journey.
Is A Worker Or Employee On Long-Term Sick Still Entitled To Be Paid Statutory Holiday Entitlement?
A worker or employee on long term sick is entitled to be paid holiday entitlement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 even though they are absent from work.
Holiday entitlement continues to accrue even if an employee is absent due to sick leave. On return to work the employee is entitled to take the paid holiday which has accrued that they have not taken during the period of sickness absence.
If he or she is dismissed or leaves the employment before taking any accrued holiday he or she will be entitled to pay in lieu.
Case law has even established that when employment is terminated by the death of a worker/employee his or her right to be paid for accrued but untaken holiday under the Working Time Regulations does not expire but passes to the deceased’s estate.
Invalid Will
There are a number of legal reasons why a will made may be invalid. This article deals briefly with the situation where it cannot be proved that the will was properly executed.
Legal requirements
It is Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 that sets out the legal requirements for how a will should be executed. This includes that a will must be in writing and signed in a particular manner by the testator (person making the will) and their witnesses.
Case law has held that only the strongest of evidence will rebut the presumption that a will was properly executed.
There have certainly been some interesting cases over the years:-
In Marley v Rawlings in 2012 mirror wills were prepared for a husband and wife to execute. However, their solicitor unfortunately gave them the wrong will to execute. The Supreme Court held even though the wrong spouse had signed the will it could be dealt with under Section 20(1)(a) of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 on the basis that it was a clerical error and it was clear what each of the testators had intended.
But in Barrett v Ben and others in the same year the Court of Appeal said that the testator’s sister signing the will made it invalid because there was not sufficient evidence that the sister had signed it at the direction of the testator.
There have been cases that have come before the courts where witnesses have not signed the will but as long as they saw the testator sign the will and have provided their personal details they could, after the testator’s death, be able to give evidence that they had witnessed the will signing. Therefore, such wills have been valid.
Why is it important?
Whether a will is valid or not can make a huge difference to how the deceased’s estate will be administered. If there was only ever the invalidly executed will prepared by the deceased then it will be treated as if he/she died intestate (with no will) and therefore the intestacy rules will dictate who the beneficiaries are. If one or more previous wills were made during the testator’s lifetime then if the last will prior to the invalid will can be proved then the estate will be administered in accordance with that. Therefore, there can be every benefit sometimes in a beneficiary that has recently been disinherited arguing that the last will of the deceased is invalid.
What do you do if the will is invalid?
You will want to stop the invalid will being used to obtain the grant of probate and the estate being administered in accordance with its terms. Applying for a caveat at the Probate Registry is the first step. However, you will need legal advice as to whether you have good grounds to be challenging the validity of the will.
How can you find out more about the circumstances in which a will was made and/or executed?
If a will was professionally prepared by a will writer or solicitor they are under a legal obligation, further to a case of Larke v Nugus and Law Society Guidance to provide details about the will making after the testator’s death to anyone likely to have an interest in the deceased’s estate.
For legal advice on this area contact us – whether you are the executor, beneficiary or a family member.
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