Ademption of Gifts of Partnership Shares; Executor Removal

Abstract

In Lane v Lane the High Court ruled on whether a testamentary gift of a “share and interest” in a partnership adeemed on the basis that, at the time of death, the partnership had been dissolved but not yet wound up. The ruling appears to be the first consideration of such a question. The court also ruled on a claim for the removal of an executor. The judgment of Jonathan Hilliard KC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) contains illuminating observations on partners’ rights in a partnership, the court’s approach to the removal of personal representatives and the interaction between the interpretation of wills and the doctrine of ademption.

This material was first published by Thomson Reuters, trading as Sweet & Maxwell, 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AQ, in Private Client Business, Issue 3, 2024, and is reproduced by agreement with the publishers. For further details, please see the publishers’ website.

Keywords: Ademption, Administration of estates, Executors, Gifts, Interpretation, Partnerships, Removal, Wills