Read the full post here: COVID-19: What to Do When Someone Dies – Three things you need to know
Most people will be aware that if Inheritance Tax is payable in an estate, then the Executors have to arrange payment. However, not everybody appreciates that an Executor is personally liable to pay the Inheritance Tax in an estate. HMRC require the Executors, or Administrators, of an estate to report accurately, all the assets and…
“Live as though you will die tomorrow, but farm as though you will live forever.” – John Marsden “…But always remember that you might not.” – Martin Reynolds Readers are (or should be) already familiar with me urging owners and directors of companies to consider creating Lasting Powers of Attorney so that the continued running…
If you have lost someone close to you during this pandemic then, like me, you may find it particularly difficult hearing the statistics on the news about the number of deaths from COVID-19 and the number of new cases. To us, it has nothing to do with numbers, and everything to do with losing that…
Many people choose to include simple funeral wishes within their Will. If you have detailed wishes, we recommend that you write a Letter of Instruction to cover the type and detail of the service that you would want. Some people also list the hymns and/or music to be played. In a Will, funeral instructions are…
Strict rules have been in place surrounding signing and witnessing Wills in England and Wales, since 1837, primarily to protect the vulnerable and to prevent fraudulent Wills. The legislation in the Wills Act 1837 stipulates that a valid Will must be signed by the person making the Will, and their signature must be witnessed by…
You may have never heard of this acronym being used but it is an important one in the context of contentious probate and trust matters, especially if you are considering who will represent you. ACTAPS stands for the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists and was founded around 20 years ago with various objectives…
Will writers have been defined as ‘key workers’ during this pandemic. We are doing our utmost to help our clients and there is much we can do to assist you during this challenging period, so please get in touch with us if you have any queries or concerns at all. We can provide telephone consultations,…
As we continue through these uncertain times many people have started to think about their future and getting their affairs in order, so much so that new instructions for Wills have apparently risen by 30%! However, Coronavirus places some obstacles in the process of completing a new will. The Will Act 1837 states that in…
In the latest of our contentious probate newsletter articles we discuss grants of probate (“grants”) and caveats. It is wrongly assumed that a grant cannot be issued where a caveat is in place. Although rare, there are actually a couple of limited scenarios whereby a grant can be issued. The types of grant which can…
