Wills, Gifts to Charities and the Lapse Rule

The "lapse rule" refers to the general rule that when a Will contains a gift to an entity that no longer exists at the time of the testator's death, the gift will become void. This rule applies even to gifts for charitable purposes. See Re Servers of the Blind League [1960] 1 WLR 564; Re …

Control, Authorship, and Unauthorised Derivative Works: Lessons from the Tolkien Estate Litigation

The Tolkien Estate is the legal body that manages the copyright for most of J. R. R. Tolkien's works. The estate has assigned the individual copyrights to the Trust. The Tolkien Trust is a U.K. registered charity established in 1977 by the author's four children, J R R Tolkien, to enable the Tolkien family to …

Family provision, The second wife & the notional estate

The Succession Act 2006 allows the Court to designate an asset not currently part of the deceased estate as "notionally" part of the deceased estate. For property eligible for a notional estate claim, the deceased must have owned the property in the last three years. Property, in this instance, refers to all types of assets, including real …

Griffin et al. v. Sheeran et al: Ed Sheeran Triumphs in Copyright Battle

In 1973, singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye reached number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart with his new R&B hit for Motown Records, "Let's Get It On." Cowritten with producer Ed Townsend, the sensual single sold more than two million copies in the weeks after its release, and it helped solidify Gaye as the "Prince of …

NSW Court of Appeal and the “Iron Lady of Strathfield”

In Soulos v Pagones; Soulos v Soulos; Soulos v Soulos; Soulos v Pagones; Kristallis v Soulos; Kristallis v Soulos; Kristallis v Pagones [2023] NSWCA 243, the New South Wales Court of Appeal delivered a unanimous verdict in dismissing appeals against Lindsay J’s exercise of discretion under the NSW Succession Act. The matter involved seven sets …