Case scenario:
Winton is a 70 year old retired captain of the Royal Navy. He decides that it is about time he made a will and, to this end, calls into Kirbys, a firm of solicitors. He has an appointment with Mr. Brown, a partner at the firm, whom he asks to draft a will leaving:
(1) 50% of his estate to Zoe, the daughter of his marriage;
(2) The remainder to be divided between such of his other children that come forward and identify themselves after his death.
Later that day, Mr. Brown drafts the will accordingly and sends a letter to Winton in which he offers to bring the will to Winton's home for his signature. Winton receives the letter, but is subsequently taken ill and is admitted to hospital. Zoe writes to Mr. Brown informing him that her father might be in hospital for some time, and asks him to visit the hospital in order to execute the will. Due to the stress of work and his own personal problems, Mr. Brown forgets to act on the letter. A fortnight later Zoe leaves a further two messages on Mr. Brown's answer machine but again he forgets to respond. Unfortunately, Winton dies one month later without his will being executed. Around the same time, Mr. Brown also receives a letter from a big city law firm requesting a reference for Clara, a junior solicitor at Kirbys. Mr. Brown confuses Clara with Lara, a poorly performing solicitor, and writes a bad reference for her.
Advise the following on their claims in tort:
(a) Zoe
(b) Alan and Betty, two New Zealanders who can establish that Winton was their father, although they and never met him.
(c) Clara
how should i approach this?
cheers
Winton is a 70 year old retired captain of the Royal Navy. He decides that it is about time he made a will and, to this end, calls into Kirbys, a firm of solicitors. He has an appointment with Mr. Brown, a partner at the firm, whom he asks to draft a will leaving:
(1) 50% of his estate to Zoe, the daughter of his marriage;
(2) The remainder to be divided between such of his other children that come forward and identify themselves after his death.
Later that day, Mr. Brown drafts the will accordingly and sends a letter to Winton in which he offers to bring the will to Winton's home for his signature. Winton receives the letter, but is subsequently taken ill and is admitted to hospital. Zoe writes to Mr. Brown informing him that her father might be in hospital for some time, and asks him to visit the hospital in order to execute the will. Due to the stress of work and his own personal problems, Mr. Brown forgets to act on the letter. A fortnight later Zoe leaves a further two messages on Mr. Brown's answer machine but again he forgets to respond. Unfortunately, Winton dies one month later without his will being executed. Around the same time, Mr. Brown also receives a letter from a big city law firm requesting a reference for Clara, a junior solicitor at Kirbys. Mr. Brown confuses Clara with Lara, a poorly performing solicitor, and writes a bad reference for her.
Advise the following on their claims in tort:
(a) Zoe
(b) Alan and Betty, two New Zealanders who can establish that Winton was their father, although they and never met him.
(c) Clara
how should i approach this?
cheers