Two teenage brothers have been granted a share of their father’s estate even though they were estranged from him and had been excluded from his will. The two boys, referred to only as J and H in court, who were aged 16 and 15 respectively at the date of their father’s death in 2018. Their
The High Court has provided some useful guidelines on what is required for a person’s statements to be legally classed as ‘deathbed gifts’ in inheritance cases. The court was asked to determine the proper distribution of the estate of a married couple. The wife died in January 2019 of cancer and the husband died of
The Treasury has agreed to make changes to the administration of Inheritance Tax following complaints from the public that it is too complex, old fashioned and needs to be simplified. The announcement comes after more than 3,500 people responded to a public consultation carried out by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) on behalf of
Britain has an enviable record of supporting good causes, yet many people are still unaware that they can use their wills to give to their favourite charities and gain some tax benefits at the same time. A survey carried out by the Law Society just after the first lockdown restrictions began to ease showed that
People making or renewing their will are being urged to consider arranging a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) at the same time to protect their interests into the future. It follows research carried out by the Law Society, which showed there had been an increase in the number of people drawing up a new will
A court has corrected an error in a man’s will to reinstate his original intention as to how his estate should be divided among family members. The issue arose because the deceased had made a will in 1998 dividing his estate into 52 parts to be given to different named beneficiaries from his wife’s family.
In 2019, the Office of the Public Guardian learned that nearly 75 percent of people think that their partners or close family members can automatically make decisions for them if they’re not able to. This is not true; only a lasting power of attorney (LPA) gives you the legal ability to give those you trust
In ensuring that Lasting Powers of Attorney can keep up with an ever modernising world, the Office of the Public Guardian has launched a new online service. Appropriately titled “Use a lasting power of attorney service”, the new system makes it easier than ever before to act as an attorney and it rolled out to
While it is still too soon for any certainty and teething problems are likely to persist, it is possible to speculate and draw some current conclusions on the effect of Brexit on some areas of UK legal practice.
People are being urged to update their wills to include their digital assets as a way of preventing problems for their family after they die. Research by the Law Society shows that just over a quarter of those surveyed know what happens to their digital assets when they die. An overwhelming 93% had not included