Blog
Keeping the peace at Christmas – top tips for shared parenting over the festive season
Lauren Evans
20 October 2017
Homemade wills and deathbed gifts – are they easier to challenge?
Homemade wills are, generally, easier to challenge. There are a number of things which a court will be looking for when it considers whether a testator was capable of making a will. Firstly, the person must have the requisite mental capacity to make a will. They must also know and approve the contents of that will.
18 October 2017
Taxing times on divorce and the family home
For most divorcing couples, how to deal with the family home will be an important issue. It may be agreed or ordered by the court that the jointly owned family home will be sold. More often, one of the parties will remain in the home (especially if there are young children) on one of the following bases.
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.