The government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensure people taking out Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) are given the help and protection they need. LPAs enable you to nominate someone such as a family member or trusted associate to make decisions on your behalf if you ever lose the ability to do so yourself in
A leading lawyers’ association says that cohabiting couples should have automatic rights to inherit if their partner dies without making a will. Under current law, a surviving partner must apply to the court to obtain financial provision or a share of the estate if their partner died intestate, that is, without having made a will.
The leader of the political group, the Christian People’s Alliance, has lost a court battle with his sister over their mother’s will. Sidney Cordle gained national prominence in 2014 while campaigning against same-sex marriage. He also stood for Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden but failed to get elected. Mr Cordle’s mother Peggy died in 2016
The High Court has set aside a transaction in which an 85-year-old sold her house at a considerable undervalue to a man 45 years her junior. The judge held that she did not fully understand what she was doing when she agreed to the sale. Ann Sybil Gurney formed a close relationship with William Paul
The government has announced a temporary change to probate applications until a controversial new fee structure comes fully into effect. Probate is the process by which a person’s will is administered after their death. Currently there is a flat fee of £215, or £155 if a solicitor is involved. That is being replaced by a
A widow has won the right to claim a share of her of her husband’s estate even though she was 26 years late in beginning legal proceedings. Shantabai Bhusate, aged 67, was the third wife of Kashinath Bhusate, who died intestate in 1990 at the age of 72. He left five children from his first
Changes being introduced by the government could prove costly for families who haven’t yet dealt with the estate of a family member who died recently. The issue arises because since 2007, surviving spouses have automatically inherited the unused inheritance tax allowances of their dead partner. This has led some people to delay applying for a
The High Court has allowed a family to correct an error in a trust fund that would have had costly tax implications. The case arose out of financial arrangements outlined in the will of a man who died in 2015. He bequeathed £4.2m to be held on trust for the benefit of his widow and
The High Court has settled a family dispute over who should inherit a house that had belonged to a man who died 17 years ago. The court heard that the man, a grandfather, had purchased the property in 1994 when he separated from his partner and wished to provide for her. He was then 73
More than six out of 10 people are unaware that will-writers who aren’t solicitors are unregulated and may have no insurance and very little experience. The Wills & Probate Consumer Research Report 2018 shows that only 37% of adults have made a will. It says the wills ‘take-up’ is skewed towards older age groups with