Blog
Homemade wills and deathbed gifts – are they easier to challenge?
Laura Phillips
20 October 2017
Homemade wills and deathbed gifts – are they easier to challenge?
Homemade wills and deathbed gifts – are they easier to challenge?
16 October 2017
Lasting Powers of Attorney and jointly owned property
There are currently around 2.4 million Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPAs) registered in England and Wales. This figure is set to rise with an increasingly aged population and attendant increased risk of more and more people losing the mental ability to deal with their financial affairs. It’s estimated that 850,000 people in the UK already suffer from dementia.
13 October 2017
Are trusts a "tax loophole" exploited by the wealthy?
Today’s Times (13 October) carries the headline “Duke of Westminster’s £8bn fortune escapes death duties”. It’s reported that, on the face of the probate just granted in respect of the late Duke’s estate, personal wealth of £616 million was, for the most part, left on life interest trusts for his widow, Natalia.
22 September 2017
Powers of Attorney online - an invitation to cheat?
The Financial Conduct Authority has published a paper suggesting that more should be done to enable individuals (“donors”) to make, register and store Lasting Powers of Attorney online. These proposals may save time, paper and energy, but there is a real risk that safeguards designed to protect individuals will be compromised.
29 August 2017
Wills by WhatsApp?
The Wills Act 1837 (the “Wills Act”) is probably one of the oldest pieces of legislation we tend to come across on a day to day basis. It works well because it is (a) clear, and (b) simple.