No one likes to talk about it and that’s completely understandable. It’s natural to feel worried thinking about the topic of death, funerals and wills. However it’s prudent to overcome your fears and make the responsible choice to sort...
Wills, Probate, Trusts and Estates Blog
Losing your mental capacity and being unable to make decisions for yourself can be daunting. A Lasting Power of Attorney is a document executed by a person before they lose capacity, and, when registered, allows those appointed to make those important life...
Managing a loved one’s affairs when they die is never easy. During what is an already difficult and emotional time, probate – the process of administering a deceased person’s estate – is one of the many things bereaved families must...
The findings of a recent Quality Care Commission (CQC) report have highlighted that during the early weeks of the Coronavirus pandemic, Do-Not-Attempt-Resuscitate (DNAR) orders were wrongly used. Widely condemned by the CQC and medical bodies,...
If someone asks you to be the executor of their will, following their death there are several things you’ll need to do. Here’s an overview to help you fulfil your responsibilities as an executor. What is an executor? An executor is legally...
Managing someone’s affairs when they die is something many of us face at some point in our lives. The process of administering a deceased person’s estate involves organising their money, possessions and other assets and distributing them as...
Managing someone’s affairs when they die is something many of us face at some point in our lives. The process of administering a deceased person’s estate - known as probate - involves organising their money, possessions and other assets and...
Chances are that many of us will face conditions which limit our ability to make decisions in the future. When someone loses their capacity to take decisions, families and professionals can struggle to determine what they might have wanted to happen in terms...
According to The Alzheimer's Society, there are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2025. 1 in 6 people over the age of 80 have dementia and 225,000 will develop dementia this year. That's one every...
If you're thinking of appointing godparents ( or have been asked to become a godparent), it's important to understand your legal position, should anything happen to prevent parents from caring for the child themselves. What rights does a...
If you believe someone’s will is wrong or that the will has not been correctly implemented, you may have cause to contest their will or make a claim against their estate. Here’s a step-by-step guide to contesting a will and submitting a...
This week saw the issue of unclaimed 'severely mentally impaired' (SMI) council tax discounts back in the news. According to Money Saving Expert's Martin Lewis, thousands of 'severely mentally impaired' people who are...
If you have taken out a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in the past five years, you might be eligible for a Lasting Power of Attorney fee refund. Between 2013 and 2017 almost two million people were overcharged by the Office of the Public...
We are often asked how much it will cost to deal with the estate of someone who has died. The work required to administer an estate can vary enormously and we therefore will look at each case on an individual basis and provide a quotation based on...
The amount you can currently pass on to your children when you die without being liable for inheritance tax is £325,000. This is known as the Nil Rate Band. Amounts over this threshold are taxed at 40% (with a few exceptions such as gifts to...
According to Age UK, almost half of all people in the UK have been targeted by a scam. Scams can be a particular problem for vulnerable people such as the elderly. Scammers commonly contact people by post. They often use sophisticated techniques and it can...
Barely a week goes by without care for the elderly making the headlines. Thankfully, more people than ever before are aware of issues relating to the treatment and care of loved ones who no longer have capacity. However, it seems that many people remain...
It’s a common misconception that if you’re married and die without making a will , your surviving partner will inherit your estate. In fact, intestacy rules (i.e. the rules governing what happens to wealth where there is no will) state that...
When it comes to inheritance, there’s no such thing as “common law” rights. Sadly, many surviving unmarried partners discover this all too late i.e. when their loved one has passed away without a will and they are left facing the harsh...
Lasting Powers of Attorney were brought in in October 2007 as a result of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Lasting Powers of Attorney were designed to produce extra protection as they need to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before...
The life of 20th Century artist Lucian Freud seems to have been as colourful in reality as it was on canvas, with the resultant issues concerning his estate continuing long after his death in 2011. The grandson of Sigmund Freud and brother of writer and...