Trust, Wills and Probate Archives | Sills & Betteridge Solicitors

Sills & Betteridge Solicitors recognised for helping to secure vital funds for Cancer Research UK

Sills & Betteridge Solicitors have been thanked by Cancer Research UK after facilitating over £878,000 worth of gifts from people choosing to leave a legacy to the charity in their will.

What happens to your estate if you don’t leave a Will?

Most people will know what a Will is. It is a legal document which details how a person would like their “Estate” (which is made up of assets such as property, money and possessions) to be distributed after they pass away. The person who is making the Will is known as the “testator”. The two main reasons for leaving a Will are to protect your children and to provide for the people for whom you want to provide, which is why it is so important to make a Will.

Making a Will? You Can Make Whatever Bequests You Wish!

It seems only right that people can do what they want with their own money and can make whatever bequests they wish in their wills. In one case which underlined that fundamental freedom, a judge upheld a businessman's right to cut his daughter out of his estate and leave his entire £2 million fortune to his girlfriend.

Court Aids Widow by Correcting Obvious Error in Will

Wills are written in a style which many would describe as 'legalese' but, as any lawyer will tell you, absolute precision is the objective. In one case which illustrates the point, a clerical error which resulted in three crucial words being omitted from a man's will required a High Court hearing to remedy.

Evidence Sufficient to Defeat Challenge to Will

Making a Will? Take Legal Advice to Avoid Family Conflict

In a case which underlines the reasons why you should always get a solicitor to help you make your will, the opinion of an experienced lawyer as to the mental capacity of an elderly dementia sufferer who sought his advice was the decisive factor in establishing that she knew her own mind.