Self-test questions: Leaving Property on Death and Enforcing Promises

. What does the term intestacy mean?

. Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, as amended by the Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014, is a testator free to free to dispose of their property when they pass away?

. If an individual dies intestate, who has the first claim to the individual's assets?

. Which of the following is not an element in determining whether a testator is of 'sound mind, memory and understanding' when making a will?

. Under s17 Wills Act 1837, how many witnesses must be present when a will is signed?

. Can a witness to a will benefit under the will?

. Which description best describes a mutual will?

. Which 2 of the following are requirements of a mutual will?

. Which of the following is not a requirement for a secret trust?

. When must communication of the existence and terms of a fully secret trust occur?

. When must communication of the existence and terms of a half secret trust occur?

. When communication of a secret trust is made to half of the prospective trustees, but the trustees are to hold as joint tenants, what obligations will be imposed on the on other trustees?

. Which of the following are requirements of a proprietary estoppel?

. Which of the following would not constitute detriment for the purposes of a proprietary estoppel claim?

. Which of the following is not a remedy available to the courts should a proprietary estoppel claim be successful?

. Hugo has no children and never married. He also has no other close relatives as his deceased parents were only children and his grandparents have also passed away. He wrote a will, but only got it witnessed by one individual. What will happen to his property when he dies?

. Beatrice's mother recently passed away and had substantial assets. However, Beatrice and her mother's relationship deteriorated drastically after her mother remarried, and they have not spoken for the last 16 years. As a result, Beatrice was not left anything in the will, with 90% of the estate passing to the local donkey sanctuary. She is living in a Housing Association property and is living on minimum wage. Will Beatrice be able to acquire a majority share of her mother's estate?

. Yin's mother recently passed away and left the family home, in which Yin lives, to her current partner of 5 weeks. Yin's mother had been dying of a fungal infection when she wrote her will. Yin has very little in assets and cannot afford to live anywhere else. Can she challenge her mother's will?

. Claudia recently passed away and had written a will leaving all of her property to the No. 10 Flat Redecoration Fund. Her daughter is unhappy about this, and states that her mother was on very strong painkillers when she wrote the will and did not properly understand what she was doing – indeed it is stated she believed her Georgian townhouse was in fact a giant bouncy castle. Will Claudia have had capacity to make the will?

. Chrispas recently tried to create a will and is concerned that it is not valid. Although it was in writing and he signed it, there were some problems with the witnesses. Two witnesses were present, and one did sign the will. However, before the second witness could sign, they received a phone call and had to dash. Is Chrispas' will valid?

. Cynthia and Claude are a married couple. They recently decided they should sort out their wills, and commented "we should probably leave it to one another and then when the last one of use dies leave it to Tricia, the local priest". Cynthia executed her will in accordance with these terms, but Claude has instead left all his property to a rival Buddhist temple. Will Cynthia and Claude have created mutual wills?

. Germanicus left £4.5 million to his closest friend in his will. However, three months before dying, he wrote to his best friend that he wanted him to use ¾ of the money for a specific purpose, which was in an additional letter that should not be opened until Germanicus' death. The friend texted back 'ok'. However, upon opening the letter after Germanicus' death, the friend has found out that he has been asked to do something he cannot morally support. Are the moneys subject to a secret trust?

. Rafique was asked to be a secret trustee of £45,000, which he accepted. However, the testator in his will left Rafique £93,000, and did not explain what the extra money is to be used for. Can Rafique keep the extra money?

. Juanita went to live with her uncle 13 years ago after her parents passed away. She had begun working on her uncle's farm, and he has said that "if you keep working this hard for me I might just have to the leave the farm to you". This statement was only made once. Did Juanita's uncle make an assurance for the purposes of proprietary estoppel?

. Louis is the carer for his step-uncle. He looks after his uncle 10 hours a day, lives rent free in the house and also receives substantial 'pocket money'. He has, however, had to give up on his dream of being a surfboarding Instagram influencer as his uncle lives in Derbyshire. Is it likely to be concluded by a court that Louis has suffered detriment for the purposes of proprietary estoppel?

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