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…
The old saying goes that there are only two guarantees in life: death and taxes. Therefore, with this in mind, it makes sense why so many of us want to ensure that after we die, our hard-earned assets are passed to the people who mean the most to us. Although Barrett & Co recommends that…
Setting up trusts, transferring assets to children or grandchildren and gifting money to relatives can at times be utilised as effective lifetime tax planning methods to try to limit the Inheritance Tax liability of an estate when carefully explored using professional legal advisors. But what happens when you take advice provided by a company you…
Imagine your property is like this red apple: If you own your property as joint tenants, then you both hold this red apple together as a whole. If one of you dies, then the apple passes in its entirety to the survivor automatically, so the survivor ends up owning the whole apple on their own….
It is often the case that when a person dies the biggest asset they leave as part of their Estate is their property. In areas of the South East of England especially, the equity in such properties could be substantial. It is therefore very important for the executors to secure that asset, sell it on…
By acting as an Executor you take on a key responsibility to protect the estate of the deceased. In many cases the substantial asset of the deceased is the former family home so you must act quickly to protect the asset. What are the steps you should take if the property is unoccupied? You should…
The importance of the Health and Welfare Lasting of Power of Attorney has been highlighted recently with the Covid-19 vaccination. Many of the elderly and vulnerable members of society have already received their first vaccination. If you or a family member have not taken up your vaccination appointment then what can and what can’t you…
Following on from last month’s contentious probate article, Contentious Probate: How Much and Who Pays, we go into detail about one particular way in which clients can instruct a solicitor: using a CFA. What is a CFA? A conditional fee agreement is an agreement between a client and their lawyer where payment of the lawyer…
It is a common misconception that people think they do not need to make a Will because they do not have anything of ‘significant value’ to leave to family and friends. However, with the modern world and technology constantly evolving, most people now have some form of digital assets which are equally as important to…
