More ‘Do-It-Yourself’ Wills are ending up in Court

The High Court is reporting a significant increase in the number of Wills ending up in disputes at Court, because the deceased attempted to write their own Will. This is partially due to the number of people who have attempted to write their own Will during the pandemic, and especially during lockdown, but also due…

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We are open for business

We are open for business! In fact, we’ve never closed but it’s understandable that other things have been on people’s minds. In March and April we had a huge surge in enquiries from people who felt worried about the upcoming Covid-19 pandemic. (As I type that, it seems so, so long ago. Now we’re in…

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At last – inheritance tax may be simplified!

The Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, has just announced his intentions to overhaul and simplify inheritance tax and the respective reliefs. Anyone who has taken an interest in inheritance tax would be well aware of the tortured history of this relief. There are something like 12 more commonly known reliefs available. All of these can impact on…

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Mutual Wills can wreak havoc on a family!

Mutual Wills can wreak havoc on a family! Surprisingly there are different types of Will which can be written for you. The simplest is a single Will – as it suggests this is a Will for you and you alone, and details where you would want your worldly goods to go to should you die.…

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Lasting Powers of Attorney becoming more popular

It has recently been reported that Lasting Power of Attorney documents have increased in popularity by 30% between April and June this year, when compared to the same period last year. Lasting Powers of Attorney documents are extremely important – they allow someone to appoint trusted members of the family or friends to manage their…

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Office of the Public Guardian to repay registration fees

Registration fees charged by the Office of the Public Guardian have been found to be excessive. Government departments can only charge fees to cover what are known as operating costs. In other words, they cannot make a profit or a surplus. However, over recent years, the OPG has introduced a number of efficiencies into how…

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