Assessment Brief - Coursework

Assessment Brief - Coursework

Academic Year 2023/24

Semester 1

Module Number LL3175

Module Title Succession

Assessment Method Written Coursework

Deadline (time and date) Thursday 30 November, 1pm

Submission Assessment Dropbox in the Module Study Area in CampusMoodle.

Word Limit 3500 (+10%)

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) text IS NOT authorised

Module Co-ordinator Hazel Watt

What knowledge and/or skills will I develop by undertaking the assessment?

By undertaking this assessment students will develop their knowledge of a number of key elements of the law of succession and trusts in Scotland. In doing so students will also develop their ability to identify relevant information, extract such information from a wider whole, and then apply the law to this information in order to provide robust conclusions. Time management and organisational skills will also be exercised.

On successful completion of the assessment students will be able to achieve the following Learning Outcomes:

1. Consider and analyse the main principles of the law of succession.

2. Critically evaluate and analyse the legal consequences of death and the distribution of the estate of the deceased.

3. Apply the principles of the law relating to the distribution of a deceased's estate to practical situations.

4. Explain and analyse the concept of a trust and how one is created and terminated.

Please also refer to the Module Descriptor, available from the module Moodle study area.

What is expected of me in this assessment?

Task(s) - content

Students are expected to read the coursework carefully and then answer all three questions. Answers should be presented in a logical, coherent and well-structured manner. Answering the questions will require an application of the knowledge gained across the syllabus as it pertains to issues of both succession and the law applicable to trusts. While module materials should form the starting point of any answer, students are also expected to show evidence of independent thought, wider reading and a robust understanding of the relevant areas.

Task(s) - format

Students should write in intelligible prose with their answers well-written, presented and fully referenced as required. Please note that, as per the RGU Assessment Word Limit Statement, footnotes are included in the overall word limit of 3500 words (+10%). There is no specific word limit for each individual answer but students are encouraged to share the overall word limit equally between the three questions. Where the word count of the submitted work is above the specified word limit by more than 10% then the overall grade for the submission will be reduced to the next lowest grade. Where the word count of the submitted work is below the specified word limit by more than 10% it may not have fulfilled the Assessment Brief requirements and as such is less likely to achieve a good pass grade.

Final submissions should be presented in font size 11 or 12, 1.5 line spaced, fully referenced and uploaded as a single document to the Assessment drop box in the Assessment area of the LL3944 Moodle page as either a Word file (whether *.doc or *.docx) by the above noted deadline. Referencing should comply with the requirements of the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA).

Students should expect the provisional outcome of assessment to be made known to them within a reasonable timeframe after submission, normally within 20 working days of the date of submission. Due to the University being closed over the Christmas period, 20 working days from the date of submission for this assessment would be Monday 8 January 2024.

Questions

Answer all three of the following questions:

1. The law governing intestacy in Scotland is a mixture of statute and common law. With reference to both statutory and common law sources, identify and explain the Scottish rules of intestate succession.

2. The Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 substantially reformed the rules regarding the formal validity of testamentary writings. Critically discuss whether the rules contained in the 1995 Act remain fit for purpose in 2023.

3. In 2022 Boris created the Tennis for Teens Trust, a public trust (not registered as a charity) with the purpose of promoting and facilitating the playing of tennis amongst teenagers living in impoverished communities across Scotland. Boris appointed himself as trustee along with his friends and associates Sue, Greg, John and Tim. Boris drew up the trust deed himself which contains only minimal information and is silent on the manner of the assumption or resignation of trustees. Further, the trust deed provides no guidance regarding the duties of the trustees.

The trust property includes a building in the west end of Aberdeen that is being used as a temporary indoor tennis court. However, the trustees are considering selling this building in order to provide funds to build outdoor tennis courts in the east end of Glasgow. The building is valued at 250,000. Greg lives in Aberdeens west end and is keen to purchase the building to use as his own personal tennis court. He is willing to pay fair market value, minus the savings that the trust will make by not having to advertise the building for sale publicly.

A trust meeting was arranged via Zoom to discuss the sale of the building, along with various other matters relating to the running of the trust. Unfortunately the meeting quickly became heated with Tim who appeared to be drunk arguing with both Sue and John over the intention to build the tennis courts in Glasgow. Boris removed Tim from the meeting and would not let him re-join. Tim then sent a WhatsApp message to Boris which was strewn with expletives and also said Im done with your daft trust. Boris replied with Fine by me, I can easily replace you before blocking Tims number. Boris has arranged a number of in-person meetings of the trustees subsequent to this, none of which Sue who appeared very distressed during the altercation with Tim attended. Boris has tried contacting Sue on multiple occasions but received no response.

In an attempt to escape the stresses of running the trust, John decided to go skiing in the Swiss alps. Unfortunately, he was involved in a serious accident on the ski slope, suffered a traumatic brain injury and has permanently lost capacity.

With reference to case law and legislation as appropriate, advise Boris and the other trustees on the various legal issues raised by this scenario.

How will I be graded?

A grade will be provided for each criterion on the feedback grid which is specific to the assessment.

The overall grade for the assessment will be calculated using the algorithm below*.

A At least 50% of the feedback grid to be at Grade A, at least 75% of the feedback grid to be at Grade B or better, and normally 100% of the feedback grid to be at Grade C or better.

B At least 50% of the feedback grid to be at Grade B or better, at least 75% of the feedback grid to be at Grade C or better, and normally 100% of the feedback grid to be at Grade D or better.

C At least 50% of the feedback grid to be at Grade C or better, and at least 75% of the feedback grid to be at Grade D or better.

D At least 50% of the feedback grid to be at Grade D or better, and at least 75% of the feedback grid to be at Grade E or better.

E At least 50% of the feedback grid to be at Grade E or better.

F Failing to achieve at least 50% of the feedback grid to be at Grade E or better.

NS Non-submission.

*If the word count is above the specified word limit by more than 10% or the submission contains an excessive use of text within tables, the grade for the submission will be reduced to the next lowest grade.

Feedback grid

GRADE A B C D E F

DEFINITION / CRITERIA (WEIGHTING) EXCELLENT

Outstanding

Performance COMMENDABLE/VERY GOOD

Meritorious

Performance GOOD

Highly Competent Performance SATISFACTORY

Competent

Performance BORDERLINE FAIL

UNSATISFACTORY

Fail

SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE

(30%) Excellent knowledge and understanding of the areas of both succession and trusts. Extensive coverage of key issues covered to a high level of detail. Very good knowledge and understanding of the areas of both succession and trusts. The majority of key issues covered to a very good level of detail. A good knowledge and understanding of the areas of both succession and trusts. Some of the key issues have been covered to a good level of detail. Satisfactory coverage of the areas of both succession and trusts but irrelevant information is included and some key issues are missed or misunderstood. The work meets the threshold standards. Some satisfactory coverage of the areas of both succession and trusts but the work also contains material which is irrelevant and/or inaccurate. A number of key issues are missed or misunderstood. The work marginally fails to meet the threshold standards.

Minimal coverage of the areas of both succession and trusts with the inclusion of irrelevant and/or inaccurate material. Most of the key issues are missed or misunderstood. The work is well below the threshold standards.

Grade: APPLICATION, ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION

(30%) An outstanding level of application/analysis/evaluation is identifiable. The work shows a very clear and reasoned understanding of all key aspects of relating to both succession and the law of trusts. There is excellent clarity in the testing of the various issues and in the development of arguments. Conclusions are well-grounded and supported by the available sources. A very good level of application/analysis/evaluation is identifiable. The work shows a clear and reasoned understanding of most aspects relating to both succession and the law of trusts. The testing of the various issues and the development of arguments is carried out to a high standard. Conclusions are well-grounded and supported by the available sources, although could perhaps be made more robust. Application/analysis/evaluation is competent if limited in parts. The work shows a clear and reasoned understanding of some aspects relating to both succession and the law of trusts. The testing of the various issues and the development of arguments exceeds the threshold standard. Conclusions are reasonable but there is clear scope to make these more robust. Application/analysis/evaluation is satisfactory and meets the threshold standard. The work shows an adequate understanding of some aspects of the law of succession and trusts but gaps are identifiable. The testing of various issues and the development of arguments meets the threshold standard. Conclusions are reasonable but there is clear scope to make these more robust. There is limited evidence of application, analysis and evaluation. The work shows a limited understanding of important aspects of the topic. The testing of various issues and the development of arguments fails to achieve competence. The conclusions reached are limited and marginally fails to meet the threshold standard.

There is no or very limited evidence of application, analysis and evaluation. The work shows no or very limited understanding of most aspects of the topic. The testing of various issues and the development of arguments is well below the threshold standard. The conclusions reached are confused and not properly supported by the available material.

Grade: STRUCTURE, PRESENTATION AND CLARITY OF EXPRESSION

(20%) The structure and presentation of the work is of an excellent standard. The submission conforms to the required specifications to a very high level. Taking into account spelling, grammar, punctuation and use of vocabulary the clarity of communication is excellent. The structure and presentation of the work is of a very good standard. The submission conforms to the required specifications to a very high level. Taking into account spelling, grammar, punctuation and use of vocabulary the clarity of communication is well above the threshold standard. The structure and presentation of the work is of a good standard. The submission conforms to the required specifications to a high level. Taking into account spelling, grammar, punctuation and use of vocabulary the clarity of communication is highly competent. The structure and presentation of the work meets the threshold standard. The submission conforms to the required specification to a satisfactory level. Taking into account spelling, grammar, punctuation and use of vocabulary, the clarity of communication is competent if sometimes unclear in parts. The structure and presentation of the work marginally fails to achieve the threshold standard. The submission fails to conform with the required specifications on a number of occasions. Taking into account spelling, grammar, punctuation and use of vocabulary, the clarity of communication marginally fails to achieve competence and is often unclear in parts.

The structure and presentation of the work fails to meet the threshold standard. The submission broadly fails to conform with the required specifications. Taking into account spelling, grammar, punctuation and use of vocabulary, the clarity of communication is very limited and is often well below the threshold standard.

Grade: RESEARCH AND REFERENCING

(20%) Use of relevant material from an impressive range of sources. Referencing shows an excellent grasp of OSCOLA standards. Use of relevant material from a commendable range of sources. Referencing shows a very good grasp of OSCOLA standards. Use of relevant material from a reasonable range of sources. Referencing shows a good grasp of OSCOLA standards. Use of relevant material from an adequate range of sources. Referencing shows a satisfactory grasp of OSCOLA standards. Use of relevant material is limited and marginally fails to achieve competency. Referencing marginally fails to meet the threshold OSCOLA standards. Use of relevant material is extremely limited and the work displays no of very limited success in this regard. Referencing fails to meet the threshold OSCOLA standards.

Grade: Coursework received late, without valid reason, will be regarded as a non-submission (NS) and one of your assessment opportunities will be lost.

What else is important to my assessment?

What is the Assessment Word Limit Statement?

It is important that you adhere to the Word Limit specified above. The Assessment Word Limit Statement can be found in Appendix 2 of the RGU Assessment Policy. It provides detail on the purpose, setting and implementation of wordage limits; lists what is included and excluded from the word count; and the penalty for exceeding the word count.

Whats included in the word count?

The table below lists the constituent parts which are included and excluded from the word limit of a Coursework; more detail can be found in the full Assessment Word Limit Statement. Images will not be allowed as a mechanism to circumvent the word count.

Excluded Included

Cover or Title Page Main Text e.g. Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Analysis, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Executive Summary (Reports) or Abstract Headings and subheadings

Contents Page In-text citations

List of Abbreviations and/or List of Acronyms Footnotes (relating to in-text footnote numbers)

List of Tables and/or List of Figures Quotes and quotations written within

Tables mainly numeric content Tables mainly text content

Figures Reference List and/or Bibliography Appendices Glossary What are the penalties?

The grade for the submission will be reduced to the next lowest grade if:

The word count of submitted work is above the specified word limit by more than 10%.

The submission contains an excessive use of text within Tables or Footnotes.

What is false authorship?

The University defines this as the practice of submitting work where the student is not the author of that work. The false authorship may relate to the student engaging with a third party and/or software tool to complete an assessment, either in part or whole. This may include work produced by, but not attributed to: another student, an essay mill, a family member or friend, a tutoring service or the unauthorised use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) software. It may also include payment, or other favours, though this will not always be the case. It may relate to any form of assessment or conducting research (RGU 2023).

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the practice of presenting the thoughts, writings or other output of another or others as original, without acknowledgement of their source(s) at the point of their use in the students work. All materials including text, data, diagrams or other illustrations used to support a piece of work, whether from a printed publication or from electronic media, should be appropriately identified and referenced and should not normally be copied directly unless as an acknowledged quotation. Text, opinions or ideas translated into the words of the individual student should in all cases acknowledge the original source (RGU 2023).

What is collusion?

Collusion is defined as two or more students working together, without the prior authorisation of the Course Leader, tutor or supervisor, to produce the same piece of work, and then attempting to present this work as their own (RGU 2023).

For further information please see Academic Integrity.

What if Im unable to submit?

The University operates a Fit to Sit Policy which means that if you undertake an assessment then you are declaring yourself well enough to do so.

If you require an extension, you should complete and submit a Coursework Extension Form. This form is available on the RGU Student and Applicant Forms page.

Further support is available from your Course Leader.

What additional support is available?

RGU Study Skills provide advice and guidance on academic writing, study skills, maths and statistics and basic IT.

RGU Library guidance on referencing and citing.

The Inclusion Centre: Disability & Dyslexia.

Your Module Coordinator, Course Leader and designated Personal Tutor can also provide support.

What are the University rules on assessment?

The University Regulation A4: Assessment and Recommendations of Assessment Boards sets out important information about assessment and how it is conducted across the University.