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01 January 2009
Issue: 7350+7351 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
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Law reports: Will-Construction-Definition of "per stirpes"

Sammut and others v Manzi Jnr and other (2008) ALL ER (D) 79 (Dec); Lord Phillips, Lord Hope, Lord Rodger, Baroness Hale and Lord Carswell, 4 December 2008

The testator died in the Bahamas in February 2004. His executors estimated the value of his estate at $US30m. The proceedings concerned a will made in June 2003, which was admitted to probate in July 2004. Clause 6 of the will provided: “I hereby give demise and bequeath all of my... property...to the following persons in the following shares: (i) Th e fi rst share representing Fifty percent (50%) of my estate to my son, Robert Adams...(ii) The second share representing Twenty-Five percent (25%) of my estate to: a. my cousins..; and b. my ex-spouse Ruby Adams...in equal shares as to the realty in fee simple and as to the personalty absolutely. If any of [the cousins and/ or the wife] shall predecease me or shall fail to survive me for a period of Fourteen (14) days, the share to which that individual is entitled shall be paid, transferred or applied to the living heirs of the deceased individual (and,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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