Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

AND: One of the following LAW1221, LAW2222, LAW2263 OR LAW2261

For Erasmus students, the Civil Law equivalent of Succession Law, or having studied the EU Succession Regulation (EU650/2012) [AKA Brussels IV], would more than suffice.

Co Requisite Comment

n/a

Aims

To equip students with a sound grounding in, and critical appreciation of the law and aspects of practice of, the Law of Succession.

Succession involves a detailed examination of the legal mechanisms for the transmission of property on death. The module also seeks to set the development of the law in its context and, in addition, offers practical insights into this important area of legal practice.

Outline Of Syllabus

The syllabus includes:

(1) the law of making Wills, including the formalities requirements, capacity assessments, the pleas to be made when appealing against suspicious wills, and the rules for revoking, altering and confirming wills.

(2) the law of construction (interpretation) of Wills, including the approaches to construction taken by the courts, the requirements for rectification and the doctrines of lapse and ademption.

(3) the law of Intestacy, including the statutory rules of total and partial intestacies, which provide the legal framework for the disposition of estates that cannot be disposed either in whole or in part by a will.

(4) the law of Family Provision, including the statutory rules for making claims against a deceased's estate where 'reasonable financial provision' has not been made for the applicant.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

(1) Students will have outline knowledge of inter-vivos succession, living wills and enduring powers of attorney.
(2) Students will have a detailed appreciation of:
(a) the law of making and revoking Wills, together with the construction and good drafting practice of Wills;
(b) the law of Intestacy and Family Provision and
(c) the administration of estates with special emphasis on the payment of debts and legacies.

Intended Skill Outcomes

The ability to

(1) Structure argument and analyses;.
(2) Solve problems by identifying relevant issues, applying relevant concepts, principles and rules, identifying material evidence needed, making judgements and reaching supported conclusions on the basis of sound and informed reasoning;
(3) Identify research issues and engage in accurate retrieval of sources, and;
(4) Communicate orally and in writing with care and precision.

Cognitive Skills
(1) The ability to analyse, synthesise, engage in critical judgement and evaluate.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The lectures augment learning from the textbook, Law Commission papers and articles. The lectures are required in order to provide a coherent and structured introductory exposition of very technical law (knowledge outcomes noted above). The new, enhanced seminar/discussion group system encourages the development of the skills outcomes noted above. That is:

Seminars where the students pre-prepare problem question answers in advance, and in the session itself discuss - with the support and guidance of the module leader - the application of the law to tricky case facts. The Succession seminars stretch students' understanding of the technical areas of law, and show students how to prepare a Skeleton Argument for a hypothetical client. The seminars are very practice-focused, and also serve as excellent preparation for the exam.

Discussion groups, where the cohort discusses advanced and contemporary issues in the Law of Succession, such as how to protect vulnerable testators during the will-making process and how practitioners could integrate AI to ensure the method of executing a will is more efficient and secure. The discussion groups lean into the Law Commission reports of recent years, and prepare students well for the coursework element of the assessment.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The assessed essay provides an opportunity to demonstrate research, writing and analytical skills. It requires the students to spend longer deepening their understanding, and making connections across related doctrines and norms. It requires examination of how these norms and doctrines can or might work together in harmony or in tension. It requires the identification of how one constrains another, or how a change in one changes another. Such matters require considerable development of their ideas across a long period of time.

At a basic level, examination provides the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the knowledge-based outcomes of the syllabus. It also precludes, for the most part, skipping large parts of the module and even cheating. But memorisation is a lesser objective. More important is that examination provides: (i) the opportunity to demonstrate problem-solving skills; and (ii) mental agility. These are very important skills to lawyers. Moreover, the 24-hour, open-book format enables students to engage with and demonstrate advanced technical and legal application skills, which are essential for a practice-focused area of law like Succession.

As noted in the assessment framework, the use of a low-stakes summative assessment can be more beneficial (and rewarding) than a formative assessment, hence the arrangement. The students are incentivised to complete it because it carries weight through to the finals, but not so much weight that it can be highly damaging if things go wrong. Furthermore, its feedback element is an important justification for this arrangement.

General Notes

N/A