Blog
Rayner my parade! The importance of specialist advice.
Jemma Brimblecombe
24 March 2014
Mental Capacity Case - Meat-eating testator can leave his millions to the Vegetarian Society
This case involves a millionaire who left 80% of his estate to the Vegetarian Society, despite not being a vegetarian.
25 February 2014
STEP’s code is much simpler to formally adopt
After vociferously arguing to the government that will writing should be regulated by statute to protect the public from estate-planning cowboys last year, STEP has launched its own code.
23 January 2014
Supreme Court upholds the Wills in a landmark case where a married couple accidentally signed each other’s Wills
The sad case of Marley v Rawlings, where a couple accidentally signed each other’s Wills really caught the public’s imagination.
It was a simple error with catastrophic results – the Wills were invalid and so the man they had loved dearly and treated as their son received nothing, whereas their biological children, to whom they were not close, got everything.
21 January 2014
STEP’s new Code for Will writing protects clients from cowboys
In July last year, we blogged about the Law Society’s new code of practice for Will writing –the Wills and Inheritance Quality Assurance Scheme (WIQS).
We were concerned that WIQS might not be the best solution for clients because it is extremely long and prescriptive and doesn’t necessarily require lawyers drafting Wills to have particular expertise or qualifications in this area.
16 January 2014
New technology means making a Lasting Power of Attorney is easier and more affordable
Everyone, regardless of their age, should consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). This is a document which appoints people to make decisions for you if you were to lose mental capacity – for example if you were to suffer brain damage in an accident or develop Alzheimer’s.