Professional negligence—Wills, estates and trusts

Professional negligence—tax advice in relation to Will drafting

Where a solicitor has drafted a Will which fails to achieve the testator’s intentions because of incorrect tax advice, there may be a right to recover those losses from the solicitor. However, there are a number of complexities to such claims. A claimant seeking to recover losses from an adviser will need to make out all the elements of the negligence claim. In particular, thought needs to be given to:

•
who the correct claimant is and how the claim should be formulated
•
the basis for the claim, and
•
proximity, mitigation and limitation

This Practice Note considers leading cases where personal representatives and beneficiaries claimed against the advisor and examines the options under contract and tort law in recovering losses and its issues.

See Practice Note: Professional negligence—tax advice in relation to Will drafting.

Professional negligence claims—Will drafting

A beneficiary may seek to claim against the draftsperson who drew up the Will where a negligent act or omission has taken place.

This Practice Note sets out the basis for these professional negligence claims

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