White v Jones: what if the claimant was not the client?

摘要

This article puts the decision of White v Jones under the microscope. It does so in three parts: First, it considers the case of White v Jones itself and attempts to make sense of the reasoning of the House of Lords. Second, it considers a number of difficulties that the courts have experienced in applying the decision of White v Jones in the context of its own facts, namely in relation to professional advice in the context of testamentary dispositions. Finally, it considers how far the decision in White v Jones actually goes, and looks at some of the cases that have considered the application of White v Jones outside the wills context.