Wills & Probate

Where you die can be of fundamental importance in determining how your estate is administered and taxed. Anyone who has bought or inherited foreign property will know that dealing with more than one legal system and set of lawyers can… Read More

The Chancellor George Osbourne today decided not to modify the thresholds for the payment of Inheritance Tax, which the Sunday Express had suggested he might. Instead, he gave a warning that avoidance through Deeds of Variation would be… Read More

This week, the Sunday Express reported that the Chancellor may consider cutting Inheritance Tax (IHT) in Wednesday's Budget… Read More

It seems not a day goes by without a newspaper article on the financial disasters caused by a failure to plan for your death. Today, the Daily Mail features an article about a son who has lost out because a couple have not undertaken some… Read More

The Times reports today that too many people are still having their wills prepared by unqualified, uninsured and unregulated ill-writers 180,000 consumers each year may be unprotected if their wills are found to be defective. What many… Read More

In light of recently published figures which suggest that more than 100 elderly people a week are losing their properties to local authorities to pay for their care home fees, funding the cost of care has become cause of worry for many.… Read More

The Administration of Estates Act contains the rules on what to do when someone dies without a will. Since it was passed in 1925, society has changed radically. In particular, families have become much more complicated. Unmarried… Read More

If you own and run a thriving business, then its success may depend on you being there and being capable of running it. Many business owners plan for unexpected death through life insurance policies, shareholder agreements and having a… Read More

It is tempting to try and do things yourself when the cost of employing a professional is off-putting. This is often the case with probate, with many people opting to do it themselves, sometimes referring to the abundance of free internet… Read More

It has been a while since the personal allowance, or ‘nil-rate band’, for Inheritance Tax (IHT) rose. The IHT threshold currently stands at £325,000 for single persons and £650,000 for married couples or civil partners. As property prices… Read More