Inheritance Law
Inheritance
I have experience in the law on the inheritance of property. My first published paper in 1994 was on the topic. I have been able to bring my experience into service in the Cayman Islands - through influencing practice and through leading law reform.
Influencing Practice
The Cayman Islands had no textbook on the law of inheritance when I arrived. I spent some years analysing the laws and regulations, alongside conducting interviews with key personnel involved in the processes - the Probate Judges, the probate registry staff, the Coroner, funeral undertakers, practising attorneys and others. Fortified with this research, I identified problem areas and published various academic papers examining the issues and possible solutions. They have formed a useful source of technical knowledge dissemination for lawyers and judges in Cayman.
My published papers were a platform from which I was able to write a new book - Inheritance Law and Practice in the Cayman Islands. It was designed as a foundation for legal practice. It has already proved very popular with law firms and is being used by attorneys in practice. It is used in the probate registry.
The book’s purpose is not simply to describe what lawyers do, but to set out a reasoned basis for what they ought to be doing in terms of professional standards and expectations according to ideals of best practice.
I was very pleased at the book's reception. The Chief Justice described the book as:
“a valued contribution to the advancement of Cayman Islands law"
- Chief Justice of the Cayman Islands
The book was hailed as:
"an important event in the progress of the legal system towards greater maturity"
"...of long-lasting benefit
to all who call the Cayman Islands home"
- Chief Justice of the Cayman Islands
Inheritance Law Reform
Law reform isn’t simple. It needs a really solid grounding in the old law which will be changed, and must be rooted in study of the current legal position. It also requires a grasp of what makes good policy. It requires a familiarity with what has worked in other countries and in other contexts. It demands a systematic legislative structure which will create a seamless coherent system.
I spent the last ten years preparing a very large body of law reforms. This was intended to form the basis for comprehensive new legislation on inheritance law in the Cayman Islands.
The Law Reform Commission appointed me to produce analysis and recommendations. The work was so substantial that it took three volumes to identify the problems and explain the potential solutions. My draft report makes recommendations for around 100 changes to the law
(see here).
The project was designed to generate a new draft Bill containing significant improvements in the law about inheritance, executors, and probate procedures. It is hoped that this project will soon be enacted into law.
I have also been appointed by the Law Reform Commission to create a similar analysis and recommendations for a new law of wills in the Cayman Islands.
Administration and Policy
Once these projects are complete, I hope to
offer my services in supporting government administration (as I did with the land regulations and procedures manual for the land registry) by helping with the preparation of new Probate Regulations and a new Procedures Manual for the probate registry.
