This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
LEGAL CORNER


Meet my Mother in law - A European Migrant Worker By Owen Hill, Consultant Solicitor


rented from the absent English owners who are friends of my mother in law.


I


She lives in the village along with other folk who have either retired here from the UK or have a holiday home here and plan to retire here when the time comes. The French have a name for the collection of rustic rural buildings that have been refurbished by the expats. You can guess. Rue de Anglaise


The EU was founded on the economic principle that there


should be free movement of people and goods across the national borders of member states. The regulation of the single European economic zone is a function mandated to our Meps in Brussels.under the terms of various Treaties, the member states agreed to submit defined powers of governance to the european parliament to ensure consistency across national borders.


However - some member states are less inclined to


comply than others. National governments are driven by the politics of the nation and the desire to be elected again. So when an issue arises that a member nation feels obliged to address in a fashion that is obviously not in accordance with the basic principles of the European Community - it is not uncommon for the National Assembly to produce laws


By Marinella Hollies, Associate Solicitor


carefully the question of the mental capacity of my client, not just because


Can I make a Will? I


often find myself in a situation where I have to consider very


of my client as an individual but sometimes due to the instructions I am being given.


Dementia and personal wealth are both increasing. This has led to more wills being contested after a testator’s death.


The level of understanding which the law requires


you to have when making a Will is commonly known as ‘testamentary capacity’. To make a new Will you must have testamentary capacity both when providing instructions for the preparation of the Will and at the time that you sign the Will.


The legal test of mental capacity which must be applied is whether you: • understand that by this document you are giving your property to persons of your own choosing on your death


• know the extent of your property • understand the nature and extent of your obligations to relatives and others, particularly those who are dependent upon you financially.


As solicitors we are expected to adhere to what is known as the ‘Golden Rule’ where we have any concerns about capacity.


Templeman J (as he then was) in Re Simpson [1977] 121


sJ 224 said: “In the case of an aged testator or a testator who has suffered a serious illness there is one Golden Rule which should always be observed, however straight-forward matters may appear and however difficult or tactless it may be to suggest that precaution be taken. The making of a Will by such a testator ought to be witnessed or approved by a medical practitioner who has satisfied himself of the capacity and understanding of the testator, and records and preserves his examination and finding.”


It can indeed be difficult and seem tactless to advise my


own client that an independent person has to verify that they are mentally capable of making a will but the assessment can often be a crucial part of trying to ensure that my client’s wishes are fulfilled after death.


My role, on behalf of my client, is to identify and instruct


an appropriate expert who can produce that assessment. Whilst that can come at a cost, if it avoids the expense and heartache of litigation, it must be worthwhile.


Obviously, even with the greatest amount of care on


the part of any solicitor, there will be times when even the combination of expertise and good documentation will be successfully challenged in court and there is therefore no doubt that the issue of capacity would be less of a problem if people were to make Wills when they are young and healthy.


99


am on a short holiday deep in rural France. I am staying in a house I have


that conflict in the knowledge that it will take ages for the action to be challenged in the European Courts and the only consequence will be a fine for the nation - not the politicians that made the decision for political gain


The French do not appear to be bothered by the influx of


the grey pound from England but the Greeks were very slow to allow the ownership of property by non nationals and spent many years making it difficult for anyone other than a local to own property on a Greek Island.


You may have read about the spanish and a recent


declaration to the effect that they are no longer willing to provide medical care for non nationals in their clinics? At a dinner party last night, I was told that the French have decided that they will no longer offer social benefits to anyone other than those that can show that they have lived (and paid taxes?) in France for five years.


It is a strange sense of community when so many of us


seem to want the economic gain but do not seem to be prepared to take a share of the pain.


Did I mention that my mother in law runs a stall on the local market days in surrounding towns and villages? she has been living here for more than five years now so I asked her if she was declaring the income and paying taxes here in France.


“Non”.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148