Natasha Dzameh has recently written an article concerning the 2017 case of Gregory & Wilkins v Ziuzina, Pring & Pring heard in the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division at the Rolls Building.
Natasha was instructed as junior to Leslie Blohm QC. They represented the Second and Third Defendants (family members of the deceased and beneficiaries under the intestacy rules) who provided permission for this article to be written due to the ongoing status of the litigation.
This case concerns an allegation that a British millionaire was unlawfully killed in the Ukraine such that the forfeiture rule should be invoked to deprive a beneficiary who would otherwise profit under the intestacy rules. This hearing addressed the interaction between civil proceedings and a pending inquest insofar as case management is concerned.
Natasha’s article outlines the decision reached and briefly considers the impact of this case for practitioners who find themselves in the unusual situation of acting in civil proceedings where an inquest is pending. This article was first published in the Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal (March 2018) and is available at lawjournals.co.uk.