As our children are heading back to school and university, and home-working with a full house becomes a distant memory, now is as good a time as any to take the opportunity to review our financial and personal affairs. September is often a time for families to get organised for the future; with children progressing…
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought us many challenges over the last 15 months, and unfortunately one of those is families having to come to terms with the loss of a loved one much earlier than would ever have been anticipated. One outcome of these unexpected deaths, is that many people unfortunately did not have the…
HM Revenue & Customs has reported that total inheritance tax receipts were £5.35 bn for the 2020/2021 financial year. This is a 3.68% rise from the previous year. In the tax year 2018 to 2019, London and the South East accounted for 53% of the total inheritance tax charged across England. The average tax paying…
We are receiving increased enquiries where a loved one has passed away overseas, for example, ex pats who spent the later years of their lives in Spain or Portugal. We are also receiving similar enquiries from the children of immigrant workers who have spent the last years of their lives working in the UK. In…
Readers of this month’s newsletter will note Juliette Spanner’s article “What is mental capacity and how does it impact me?”, which refers to the The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). All attorneys should familiarize themselves with the MCA in order to carry out their duties properly and effectively. It is very easy, when asked to…
In order to make a Will in England or Wales, the law requires you to understand fully what you are doing and its implications. This is known as having “testamentary capacity”, which is a special category of capacity. Broadly, in relation to making a Will, it relates to whether a person is capable of understanding:…
The Private Client Department is often instructed by clients concerned about their vulnerable friends or relatives and how to assist them in managing their personal or financial affairs. If the person has already lost capacity and does not have an Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney in place, then the only way properly to protect…
Making a Will It is often the case that the first Will a person makes in their lifetime is triggered by an event such as the birth of their first child, purchasing their first home or inheriting from a relative. It therefore often follows that the person preparing the Will, the Testator, does so when…
American singer and song-writer Britney Spears shot to fame in 1999 following a string of successful musical hits and soon Spears became a household name recognised globally for her musical achievements. However, following her divorce in 2006, Spears suffered a highly publicised mental health crisis, which resulted in her father being appointed as her conservator…
When a loved one passes away, we often receive telephone calls from family members who simply do not know where to start. Often families feel that there must be a million and one tasks to be getting on with and they are not sure which to prioritise, and which can be left on the back…
