January 2019 Level 3 PROBATE PRACTICE Subject Code L3-14 THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF LEGAL EXECUTIVES UNIT 14 PROBATE PRACTICE * Information for Candidates on Using the Case Study Materials This document contains the case study materials for your examination. In the examination, you will be presented with a set of questions which will relate to these case study materials. You will be required to answer all the questions on the examination paper. You should familiarise yourself with these case study materials prior to the examination, taking time to consider the themes raised in the materials. You should take the opportunity to discuss these materials with your tutor/s either face-to-face or electronically. It is recommended that you consider the way in which your knowledge and understanding relate to these case study materials. Instructions to Candidates Before the Examination You will be provided with a clean copy of the case study materials in the examination. You are NOT permitted to take your own copy of the case study materials or any other materials including notes or textbooks into the examination. In the examination, candidates must comply with the CILEx Examination Regulations. Turn over * This unit is a component of the CILEx LEVEL 3 PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS and LEVEL 3 LEGAL SERVICES KNOWLEDGE QUALIFICATIONS 176438 Page 1 of 8
ADVANCE INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES You are a trainee lawyer employed by the firm Kempstons, The Manor House, Bedford, MK42 7AB. DX number: 23654 Bedford. Your supervising solicitor is William Hooper, who has handed you a number of files and the following documents: Document 1 Document 2 Document 3 Document 4 Document 5 Attendance Note re the estate of the late Frank Jennings Attendance Note re new Will for Jakub Nomak Attendance Note of a meeting with Jakub Nomak Will of Jakub Nomak Letter from Mr Noel Kline Page 2 of 8
DOCUMENT 1 ATTENDANCE NOTE Re the estate of the late Frank Jennings Attending Edward Jennings, aged 49, of 73 Kings Road, Kempston, and Daniel Jennings, aged 45, of 8 Hill Grove, Kempston, to discuss the estate of their late uncle, Frank Jennings. Frank was the elder brother of their late father, Geoffrey. Frank and Geoffrey have two surviving younger sisters, Angela and Rita. Angela is 68 and in good health. Angela has one daughter, Miranda, aged 38. Rita is 73 and has dementia. Rita has no children and lives in a care home. Frank s parents died many years ago. Edward handed me Frank s death certificate and other papers, including bank statements, share certificates and a building society passbook. Edward told me that Frank was born on 3 March 1942 and died on 5 January 2019. He was a retired headmaster. He had lived at 66 Brookfield Gardens for the last 25 years; the property is free of mortgage. Frank s wife, Brenda, died five years ago. She left her estate to her sister Heather. Frank and Brenda had no children and were very fond of their nephews, Edward and Daniel, and their niece, Miranda. Edward confirmed that Frank had no Will. He remembers Frank saying he should make one after Brenda died, but he believes Frank never got round to it. Daniel added that Frank had always said that he wanted to leave everything to his nephews and niece. In particular, he had promised Daniel he could have his gold watch, which was a family heirloom and had belonged to their greatgrandfather. Frank s assets (all held in his sole name) are as follows: 66 Brookfield Gardens 375,000 Southsea Building Society account 35,000 Westland Bank current account 2,250 shares in British Gas Plc 5,500 personal effects 25,000 In addition, Frank was receiving his teacher s pension of 20,000 a year. He owed 350 on his credit card. The cost of his funeral is 6,000. During his lifetime, the only gifts he made were 10,000 to each of his two nephews and his niece, a few weeks after Brenda died. Page 3 of 8 Turn over
DOCUMENT 2 Re new Will for Jakub Nomak ATTENDANCE NOTE Attending Nikola Nomak. I have acted for her in the past. She came to see me about her uncle, Jakub Nomak. Family and personal details Nikola explained to me that Jakub is her father s brother. He is 72 years old and lives at 24 Willow Tree Close in Kempston. He married late in life, seven years ago. However, his wife Maja died suddenly of a heart attack three months ago. Since then, Jakub s physical health has deteriorated. He suffers from arthritis and walks with a stick. Also, since Maja s death he has become reclusive and is reluctant to leave the house (which is why he did not come with Nikola today). He has also become forgetful and sometimes seems confused. Nikola is worried that her uncle is showing signs of dementia, but he refuses to acknowledge that anything is wrong and is refusing to see his doctor. She told me that she sees him every day, and she does his shopping and looks after his financial affairs. He also has carers who come in once a day. Jakub and Maja married in 2012, and neither had been married before. Jakub s surviving relatives are his two brothers, Filip (who is Nikola s father) and Igor. Nikola has a younger sister, Kasia, who is also very close to her Uncle Jakub. Igor has two sons, Antoni and Szymon. Nikola says that Jakub does have a Will, which he made in 2005, but she is worried that it is out of date and thinks he may need a new one. She brought a copy with her which she handed to me (Document 4). The 2005 Will leaves 10,000 each to Filip and Igor and the rest of the estate to Nikola, her sister and her cousins, which she said continues to reflect her uncle s wishes. Jakub owned a successful printing business, although he ran it down when he met Maja. His assets are all held in his sole name. He has savings and investments totalling 150,000. In addition, he owns the house in which he lives, worth 350,000. The house is free of mortgage. Nikola said that Jakub wants Kempstons to act as his executors. She said that he wants to leave a gift of 10,000 to each of his brothers. He wants everything else to go to his nephews and nieces. I explained to Nikola that I would need to take instructions directly from Jakub. She said he would only repeat what she had told me. I arranged with her to visit Jakub at his home the following week. Page 4 of 8
DOCUMENT 3 ATTENDANCE NOTE William Hooper attending Jakub Nomak at his home Re his Will As arranged, I visited Jakub at his home. I was able to speak to Jakub on his own. Nikola explained to Jakub who I was and then she left the room. New Will I explained that I was there to talk to him about making a new Will. He seemed confused, insisting that he had recently signed some papers and that Nikola was making a fuss over nothing. Financial affairs I talked to him about his assets and, in particular, his savings and property. He was unclear on the value of his savings, saying that he had spent all his money years ago. He said that Maja owned the house and that he was worried what would happen to it now that she was gone. He said that all his documents were in his desk and that I was welcome to look at them. Family I asked him who he wanted to leave his money to. He said Nikola was his only living relative and she could have it all. I asked about his brothers and his other niece and nephews, but he seemed confused as to who they were. Jakub then said that he was getting tired and asked me why I was there. I explained that I was there to sort out his new Will. He became irritated and confused, so I decided not to continue the discussion any further. I said goodbye to Jakub and spoke briefly with Nikola as I was leaving. She said that her uncle had now agreed to see his GP, Doctor Lewis, and had an appointment early the following week. She said that she would be in touch with me after that. Turn over Page 5 of 8
DOCUMENT 4 WILL OF JAKUB NOMAK This is the last Will of me Jakub Nomak of 24 Willow Tree Close Kempston 1. I revoke all former Wills 2. I appoint my brothers Filip Nomak of 88 Thorpe Road Kempston and Igor Nomak of 52 Gomer Avenue Kempston to be executors and trustees of my Will 3. I give 10,000 to each of my brothers Filip Nomak and Igor Nomak 4. I give the rest of my estate in equal shares to such of my nephews and nieces Nikola Nomak, Kasia Nomak, Antoni Nomak and Szymon Nomak as survive me Dated 24 April 2005 Signed by the above named Jakub Nomak in our joint presence and attested by us in the presence of him and each other Signed: Jakub Nomak Witnessed: Francis Dean Wictor Kowal Page 6 of 8
DOCUMENT 5 LETTER FROM MR NOEL KLINE Mr N. Kline 33 Waterford Gates Kempston MK42 6PP Dear Mr Hooper 20.12.2018 Your firm has acted for me on a number of occasions, most recently in the sale of my newsagent business. However, this time I am writing on behalf of my brother, Alan Kline, who is currently on a trip to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. He has asked me to get in touch with you with instructions to prepare his Will. The details for his Will are quite simple. Alan is 65, and his wife, Victoria, died many years ago. He has never remarried. He has no children. His closest relative is me. Our parents died a few years ago and we have no other siblings. He has two nephews, my sons, of whom he is very fond. He is also very involved with his favourite woodland charity, so he would like to make a substantial donation to that. He recently undertook a review of his finances. He has savings and investments worth around 50,000. He recently paid off the mortgage on his house, 156 Yellowpod Close, Kempston, which has been valued at 350,000. He has no substantial debts. He has a funeral plan in place, which he recently updated. He also recently made some donations to a couple of local good causes and gave my two sons, Henry, aged 33, and Freddy, aged 31, 10,000 each to invest in premium bonds. Please prepare Alan s Will with the following gifts: 20,000 to Preserve the Trees Trust (Charity no. 90098) of 66 Howells Road, London, W1; his silver watch to his godson Joshua Greene of 18 Hardwick Place, Kempston; the rest of his estate to be left to me, Noel Kline. If I die before him, then my sons, Henry and Freddy, will inherit in equal shares. He wants your firm to act as his executors. Alan is coming home briefly over Christmas, before returning to South America in the new year, and would like to get his Will sorted when he s home. He will ring you at the office to confirm his instructions after the Christmas break. Kind regards, Noel End of Case Study Materials 2019 The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives Page 7 of 8
BLANK PAGE Page 8 of 8