Author: Constance Mahoney (2002)

Constance Mahoney looks at the proposed reforms to probate and trust litigation
(taken from Issue No 18  –  January 2002)

At the present time, although there are long-standing rules for the conduct of non-contentious probate business, there are no officially approved guidelines for solicitors, executors, administrators and trustees to follow before the commencement of proceedings in a probate or trust dispute other than that they should act reasonably and within the spirit of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. However, this is set to change with the introduction of a new protocol which is currently under consideration by the Lord Chancellor’s Department. The final document will outline the steps parties should take to seek information from and provide information to each other about a prospective legal claim. It will therefore become crucial for those who become involved in a trust or probate dispute to be familiar with its content. The full text of the most recent draft of the protocol can be found at http://www.actaps.com/.