Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Negligence definition

What does Negligence mean? In legal practice, negligence describes a failure to take reasonable care that results in foreseeable harm or loss. It is proved by establishing: (i) a duty of care, (ii) breach of that duty measured against the objective standard of a reasonable person, (iii) causation (factual “but for” cause and legal scope/remoteness), and (iv) recoverable damage. The concept is defined and developed by case law. A classic formulation is that negligence is omitting what a reasonable person would do, or doing what a prudent person would not (Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks (1856) 11 Ex Ch 781). The test is objective: the

Professional negligence claims for IHT errors in Will drafting: executors vs beneficiaries, causes of action, proximity and limitation (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Private Client expert

Practice notes

When a solicitor prepares a Will that, owing to flawed tax advice, fails to give effect to the testator’s intentions, a claim may lie to recover the ensuing loss from the solicitor. Such claims are often intricate and require careful consideration of:

the identity of the proper claimant
the legal foundation for the claim
the consequences for the limitation period(s)

Examples of claims

Two leading authorities—Daniels v Thompson and Rind v Theodore Goddard—concerned clients who, acting on advice, made lifetime gifts intended to be exempt transfers. However, those gifts were caught by the reservation of benefit rules (see Practice Note: IHT—gifts with reservation of benefit), which the solicitors had either failed to advise upon altogether (in Daniels v Thompson) or to avoid (in Rind v Theodore Goddard). The consequence in both matters was that the relevant gift was treated as part of the deceased’s estate for inheritance tax purposes, leaving a smaller estate and diminished legacies. In Daniels v Thompson, the personal representatives sought to recover the consequent tax liability from the adviser, and in Rind v...

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Adam Carvalho

Adam Carvalho has more than 15 years' experience as a contentious Private Client lawyer. Most recently, he was a Legal Director in the Contentious Trusts and Probate Team at Myerson, where he worked on complex and high-value contentious trust and probate matters.Adam trained, qualified and worked as a senior associate and partner in a central London firm in the Tier 1 nationally for Contentious Trust and Probate work.Adam has considerable experience of ultra-high value litigation, cross-jurisdictional matters and disputes in non-UK courts. Adam has litigated in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and advised in relation to complex matters in courts from Bermuda to New Zealand. Adam is known for his constructive, pragmatic advice, his down to earth approach, and his technical knowledge. Adam is a firm believer in focusing on the main issues and providing sound and accessible advice....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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