Where there's a will… Family feuds lead to 700% increase in High Court disputes in five years

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Figures obtained by The Independent show a 700 per cent increase over the last five years in the number of actions launched at London’s High Court to challenge the provisions made in wills.In addition, the number of cases  aimed at having whole wills declared invalid has nearly doubled.

If actions concerning trusts – often used to hold assets to be passed on to the next generation – are included, the total number of disputes involving the assets of living or dead family members being considered by the High Court rises to 300. This is compared to 95 in 2006.

The rise is partly attributed to the recession, which has seen the value of assets including property fall sharply. This has triggered arguments between relatives and dependants who find themselves with much smaller sums than anticipated.

But lawyers say it is also being fuelled by the rise in remarriages, step-families and cohabitation. Increasingly complex family arrangements, combined with the fact that relatives are now more likely to live further apart, has increased the likelihood that of will disputes inflamed by long held and un-aired resentments

The perils of imprecise wills and family disputes were highlighted last week when the son of the thrice-married actor Peter Ustinov declared himself nearly bankrupt following a nine-year legal battle over his father’s estate.

A High Court judge threw out an  attempt by Igor Ustinov to bring his battle to secure his father’s assets brought to the British courts, leaving him with a £114,000 legal bill. Following a previous ruling which overturned a 1968 written in pencil, Sir Peter was declared to have died intestate.

Fay Copeland, a partner with City law firm Wedlake Bell, said: “There is an undoubted growth in the number of these cases. People whose financial situation might not be secure because of the current climate might find themselves getting a smaller amount from a will than they had anticipated and that can often be the starting point for litigation.

“Similarly, families are more diverse and geographically spread out. Families are not as close as they used to be and when, for example, you have step-families you can see cases where people feel usurped or pushed out and that can form the basis for a dispute.

“The advice is to write a proper will but also for people to try and explain their decisions before their death. Around three quarters of cases are settled by mediation, which allows emotional as well as financial grievances to be aired.”

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show that the number of disputes  over individual clauses in wills rose from 10 in 2006 to 82 in 2011, the  latest year for which figures are available.

Cases seeking entire wills to be declared null and void, for example where the deceased lacked the capacity  to make informed decisions, rose from 73 to 135.

View the original article here

Saying no to jobs so that I can stay with family

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Posted 17 January 2013 - 11:36 AM

winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

Few years ago I moved to another country for a job. It was a big thing cuz I couldn't find any jobs in my hometown. This place had plenty of career possibilities and it was easy to change jobs.
At first it was great but I had no family or friends there. The culture shock, stress at work, different system, low infrastructure standards and services, stress outside, stress living with strangers, loneliness, homesickness etc. eventually got to me and I decided to move home. It was a disaster and I'm not a strong person like other guys who can live alone in a foreign country. How old were you when you got that first job abroad? 22? My cousin didn’t know a Japanese word when he was 22. He even didn’t travel by plane one time before he got his export labor contract in Japan. No friend, no family, unfamiliar with food, cultures, languages, people... everything new there. But now, he’s been working in Japan for 4 years, earning much money and even sending it to support his family. My aunt tells me he has no intent to return yet, and he may marry a Japanese girl and settle down for good then.

The matter is not whether you’re a strong guy to live alone and adapt yourself to new environments in a completely new place where you never set foot before, but whether or not you want to take risk and accept a challenge to strive for a brighter future.

winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

So I'm back where I started. Hard to find good jobs in my hometown but at least I have my family. Just remember that your family won’t live with you forever. Your siblings will have their own family and your parents will be gone (sorry, I don’t mean to say that), and you’ll be alone again. What will you do then? winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

I still apply and get offered great jobs, but they are in other countries so I turn them down.
Am I doing the right thing?No one will have the right to judge what you’ve done is right or wrong, but yourself. If you’re really happy with what you’ve got: doing chores, living with family, fearing to take risk at a new adventure life in a faraway area... then it’s ok, don’t look back at any decision you’ve made before and never regret or live in regret from now on. At least, you’ll be responsible for your own choice. No one will be blamed for that.

But now if we advise you to take that chance again in a place where you’re lonely and isolated, what's gonna happen to you may be more terrible than your first job experience oversea when you’re not self-motivated or enthusiastic enough to expose yourself to this venture. Another failure is imminent for sure. More terribly, no one can do anything to fix a wrong option you make because of strangers' advices... Edited by KittyLam, 17 January 2013 - 11:40 AM.

View the original article here

Saying no to jobs so that I can stay with family

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Posted 17 January 2013 - 11:36 AM

winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

Few years ago I moved to another country for a job. It was a big thing cuz I couldn't find any jobs in my hometown. This place had plenty of career possibilities and it was easy to change jobs.
At first it was great but I had no family or friends there. The culture shock, stress at work, different system, low infrastructure standards and services, stress outside, stress living with strangers, loneliness, homesickness etc. eventually got to me and I decided to move home. It was a disaster and I'm not a strong person like other guys who can live alone in a foreign country. How old were you when you got that first job abroad? 22? My cousin didn’t know a Japanese word when he was 22. He even didn’t travel by plane one time before he got his export labor contract in Japan. No friend, no family, unfamiliar with food, cultures, languages, people... everything new there. But now, he’s been working in Japan for 4 years, earning much money and even sending it to support his family. My aunt tells me he has no intent to return yet, and he may marry a Japanese girl and settle down for good then.

The matter is not whether you’re a strong guy to live alone and adapt yourself to new environments in a completely new place where you never set foot before, but whether or not you want to take risk and accept a challenge to strive for a brighter future.

winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

So I'm back where I started. Hard to find good jobs in my hometown but at least I have my family. Just remember that your family won’t live with you forever. Your siblings will have their own family and your parents will be gone (sorry, I don’t mean to say that), and you’ll be alone again. What will you do then? winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

I still apply and get offered great jobs, but they are in other countries so I turn them down.
Am I doing the right thing?No one will have the right to judge what you’ve done is right or wrong, but yourself. If you’re really happy with what you’ve got: doing chores, living with family, fearing to take risk at a new adventure life in a faraway area... then it’s ok, don’t look back at any decision you’ve made before and never regret or live in regret from now on. At least, you’ll be responsible for your own choice. No one will be blamed for that.

But now if we advise you to take that chance again in a place where you’re lonely and isolated, what's gonna happen to you may be more terrible than your first job experience oversea when you’re not self-motivated or enthusiastic enough to expose yourself to this venture. Another failure is imminent for sure. More terribly, no one can do anything to fix a wrong option you make because of strangers' advices... Edited by KittyLam, 17 January 2013 - 11:40 AM.

View the original article here

Saying no to jobs so that I can stay with family

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Posted 17 January 2013 - 11:36 AM

winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

Few years ago I moved to another country for a job. It was a big thing cuz I couldn't find any jobs in my hometown. This place had plenty of career possibilities and it was easy to change jobs.
At first it was great but I had no family or friends there. The culture shock, stress at work, different system, low infrastructure standards and services, stress outside, stress living with strangers, loneliness, homesickness etc. eventually got to me and I decided to move home. It was a disaster and I'm not a strong person like other guys who can live alone in a foreign country. How old were you when you got that first job abroad? 22? My cousin didn’t know a Japanese word when he was 22. He even didn’t travel by plane one time before he got his export labor contract in Japan. No friend, no family, unfamiliar with food, cultures, languages, people... everything new there. But now, he’s been working in Japan for 4 years, earning much money and even sending it to support his family. My aunt tells me he has no intent to return yet, and he may marry a Japanese girl and settle down for good then.

The matter is not whether you’re a strong guy to live alone and adapt yourself to new environments in a completely new place where you never set foot before, but whether or not you want to take risk and accept a challenge to strive for a brighter future.

winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

So I'm back where I started. Hard to find good jobs in my hometown but at least I have my family. Just remember that your family won’t live with you forever. Your siblings will have their own family and your parents will be gone (sorry, I don’t mean to say that), and you’ll be alone again. What will you do then? winnie, on 17 January 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

I still apply and get offered great jobs, but they are in other countries so I turn them down.
Am I doing the right thing?No one will have the right to judge what you’ve done is right or wrong, but yourself. If you’re really happy with what you’ve got: doing chores, living with family, fearing to take risk at a new adventure life in a faraway area... then it’s ok, don’t look back at any decision you’ve made before and never regret or live in regret from now on. At least, you’ll be responsible for your own choice. No one will be blamed for that.

But now if we advise you to take that chance again in a place where you’re lonely and isolated, what's gonna happen to you may be more terrible than your first job experience oversea when you’re not self-motivated or enthusiastic enough to expose yourself to this venture. Another failure is imminent for sure. More terribly, no one can do anything to fix a wrong option you make because of strangers' advices... Edited by KittyLam, 17 January 2013 - 11:40 AM.

View the original article here