Usually, there can be up to £10,000 to £15,000 in the bank before Probate is needed but this isn’t always the case. All banks and building societies have different thresholds for releasing funds without a Grant of Probate. Depending on the size of the estate, banks will ask for a Grant of Probate before closing …
Traditionally the emphatic answer to this question was NO. But in recent years we have seen the increase in the number of long-term relationships where there is no marriage or civil partnership, coupled with an increasing number of divorces and second relationships all backed up by changes in the law that give increasing equality to …
While many people make arrangements for what should happen to their property and finances after they die, fewer people make arrangements for someone else to manage their finances for them during their lifetime, e.g. in the event that they lose mental capacity. According to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), although an estimated 40% …
As part of the UK government’s implementation of the 5th EU Money Laundering Directive, almost all Trusts are now required to be registered with HMRC. Trust registration is nothing new. The Trust Registration Service (TRS) has been in operation since being introduced by the Fourth Money Laundering Directive (MLD4) in 2017, and before then certain …
In most cases, a family’s property will represent a significant proportion of their estate. However, problems could arise if the deceased had allowed a child to live in the property up until their death. While the child living in the property may want to continue to do so and may not have the means to …
More and more we are seeing headlines about squabbles over an unnecessarily vast inheritance, like the arguments surrounding the (estimated) £70 million estate of Robin Williams or the £360 million estate of Prince, who shockingly died without a Will! Perhaps, you have heard of the ill-fated life of Anna Nicole Smith (a famous American model, …
Most people appreciate the need to put a Will in place to deal with their affairs on death. However, the importance of appointing attorneys to deal with matters whilst their alive and in their lifetime weather capacity has been lost or help is needed, can sometimes be underestimated, or ignored. It is often assumed that, by …
Under the 1975 Act, a testator (a person who makes a Will), dies domiciled in England and Wales. They could be presented with a claim for reasonable provision from the following: The spouse or civil partner of the deceased; A former spouse or former civil partner who has not remarried or formed a subsequent civil …
Broadly speaking, a Trust is an arrangement under which property i.e., land, cash, investments or some sort of rights such as copyrights, is held by a person or organisation on behalf of one or more people. The people holding the property are called “the Trustees” and the people on whose behalf the property is held …
Who needs to use the Court of Protection? The short answer to this is someone who has not already arranged a Power of Attorney. In our experience this falls into two camps; the apathetic and people are who are in denial about their own potential frailty. It is this latter group where financial advisers & …
