Legal Practice Course (LPC) Wills, Probate and Administration of Estates Syllabus

Wills, Probate and Administration of Estates syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Wills, Probate and Administration of Estates in Legal Practice Course (LPC), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Wills and Succession

   4 topics

   • Validity of wills
     • Capacity, intention and the s.9 formalities
     • Revocation, alteration and revival
   • Construction and failure of gifts
     • Ademption, lapse and the class closing rules
     • Survivorship and commorientes
   • Intestacy and the statutory order of distribution
   • Drafting a valid will and common clauses
2. 2

   Obtaining the Grant of Representation

   4 topics

   • Types of grant: probate, letters of administration
   • Entitlement to the grant and renunciation
   • The probate application and supporting documents
   • Caveats, citations and contentious probate basics
3. 3

   Administration of the Estate

   5 topics

   • Duties and powers of personal representatives
   • Collecting in and valuing assets
   • Payment of debts, liabilities and the order of application
   • Distribution to beneficiaries and estate accounts
   • Protection of PRs (s.27 notices and Benjamin orders)
4. 4

   Inheritance Tax and Post-Death Planning

   5 topics

   • IHT on death: the nil rate band and residence nil rate band
   • Exemptions and reliefs
     • Spouse and charity exemptions
     • Business property and agricultural property relief
   • Lifetime transfers and the cumulation principle
   • Post-death variations and disclaimers
   • Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

Wills, Probate and Administration of Estates flashcards for Legal Practice Course (LPC)

19 of 63 cards from the Wills, Probate and Administration of Estates deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the three core requirements for a valid will (apart from formalities)?

   (1) Capacity, (2) Intention (general and specific intention to make this will), and (3) Knowledge and approval of the will's contents. Formal execution requirements under s.9 Wills Act 1837 are additional.

2. State the test for testamentary capacity from Banks v Goodfellow (1870).

   The testator must: (1) understand the nature of the act and its effects; (2) understand the extent of the property being disposed of; (3) comprehend and appreciate the claims to which they ought to give effect; and (4) have no disorder of mind that perverts their sense of right or prevents the exercise of natural faculties.

3. What are the formal execution requirements for a valid will under s.9 Wills Act 1837?

   The will must be: (1) in writing; (2) signed by the testator (or by another in their presence and at their direction); (3) the testator intending by that signature to give effect to the will; (4) the signature made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time; and (5) each witness attesting and signing, or acknowledging the signature, in the presence of the testator.

4. What is the effect of s.15 Wills Act 1837 where a beneficiary (or their spouse) acts as a witness?

   The will remains validly executed, but any gift to that witnessing beneficiary (or to the witness's spouse/civil partner) is void. The witness may still validly act as a witness; only their gift fails.

5. From what age can a person generally make a valid will, and what is the key exception?

   A person must be aged 18 or over. The exception is a 'privileged will': a soldier in actual military service or a mariner/seaman at sea may make a valid informal (even oral) will under any age.

6. What is the rebuttable presumption regarding knowledge and approval, and when does it not apply?

   Where a will is duly executed by a testator with capacity, knowledge and approval is presumed. The presumption does not apply where there are suspicious circumstances (e.g. a major beneficiary prepared the will), or where the testator was blind, illiterate, or did not sign personally - then affirmative proof is required.

7. Distinguish the effect of marriage versus divorce on an existing will.

   Marriage/civil partnership automatically revokes a prior will (unless made in contemplation of that marriage). Divorce/dissolution does not revoke the will, but the former spouse is treated as having predeceased: any gift to them and their appointment as executor lapse (s.18A/s.18C Wills Act 1837).

8. What is the doctrine of dependent relative revocation?

   Where a testator revokes a will conditionally - intending revocation to be effective only if some other state of affairs (usually a valid new will) comes into being - and that condition is not satisfied, the revocation is ineffective and the original will may be revived or admitted to probate.

9. What is a lapse, and what is the principal statutory exception under s.33 Wills Act 1837?

   A gift lapses (fails) if the beneficiary predeceases the testator. Under s.33, if a gift is to the testator's child or remoter descendant who predeceases leaving issue living at the testator's death, the gift passes to that issue (per stirpes), unless a contrary intention appears in the will.

10. Distinguish ademption and abatement.

    Ademption: a specific gift fails because the asset no longer forms part of the estate at death (e.g. it was sold). Abatement: where the estate is insufficient to pay all gifts, the gifts are reduced; the statutory order is residue first, then general legacies, then specific/demonstrative legacies (and within a class, pro rata).

11. What is the rule on ademption for shares described as 'my shares'?

    A gift of 'my' specific shares is a specific gift and adeems if the testator no longer owns those exact shares at death (e.g. sold or the company restructured). A gift of a number of shares not tied to a specific holding may be construed as a general legacy that does not adeem.

12. What is the general rule on the date from which a will 'speaks' as to property versus people?

    As to property: a will speaks from the date of death (s.24 Wills Act 1837), so 'all my shares' includes those owned at death, unless contrary intention. As to people: a will speaks from the date of execution, so 'my eldest son' means the eldest at the date the will was made.

13. Set out the statutory order of entitlement on intestacy where the deceased leaves a spouse/civil partner AND issue.

    The spouse takes: (1) all personal chattels; (2) a statutory legacy (currently £322,000) plus interest; and (3) one half of the residue absolutely. The issue take the other half of the residue on the statutory trusts.

14. On intestacy, what does the surviving spouse/civil partner receive if the deceased leaves NO issue?

    The surviving spouse/civil partner takes the entire estate absolutely (the whole estate passes to the spouse; other relatives such as parents and siblings take nothing). This applies regardless of estate size.

15. State the order of entitlement under s.46 Administration of Estates Act 1925 where there is no surviving spouse/civil partner.

    In order, on the statutory trusts: (1) issue; (2) parents; (3) brothers and sisters of the whole blood; (4) brothers and sisters of the half blood; (5) grandparents; (6) uncles and aunts of the whole blood; (7) uncles and aunts of the half blood; and finally (8) the Crown (bona vacantia).

16. What does 'the statutory trusts' mean for issue on intestacy?

    The estate (or relevant share) is held for the deceased's children equally, contingent on attaining 18 or earlier marriage/civil partnership. If a child predeceased leaving issue, that issue take their parent's share per stirpes. Beneficiaries who fail to reach the contingency are excluded.

17. What is the survivorship requirement for a spouse on intestacy?

    The surviving spouse/civil partner must survive the intestate by 28 days. If they die within 28 days, the estate is distributed as if the spouse had not survived the intestate.

18. What are 'personal chattels' for intestacy purposes under the amended definition?

    Tangible movable property, excluding: (a) money or securities for money; (b) property used solely or mainly for business purposes; and (c) property held solely as an investment (Administration of Estates Act 1925 s.55, as amended by the Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014).

19. Name four standard administrative clauses commonly included when drafting a will.

    Examples: (1) appointment of executors/trustees; (2) extension of statutory powers (e.g. of investment, maintenance s.31 and advancement s.32, insurance, delegation); (3) charging clause for professional executors; (4) appointment of guardians for minor children; plus a residuary gift and survivorship clause.

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