Trust, Wills and Probate

• Assessing Mental Capacity - Guidance

• One of the conditions which must be satisfied for a will to be valid is that the person making it must be of sound mind. With an ageing population, cases involving disputes over a testator s mental capacity are becoming more common it is estimated that up...

• Asset Valuation Problems - Chattels

• When dealing with an estate, an increasing problem for executors is the valuation of assets in the form of the chattels of the deceased. In probate terminology, chattels are the everyday assets such as furniture and ordinary possessions, as opposed to...

• CGT and Shares in Estates Valuation Trap

• In the UK, there are quite generous exemptions from Inheritance Tax (IHT) which apply to business assets. One problem with making use of such exemptions is the effect this may have on the subsequent value of the relevant assets for Capital Gains Tax (CGT)...

• Changing Wills For Benefit

• A will expresses the final wishes of the deceased person and it is commonly thought that a will is irrevocable after death. However, provided everyone agrees, it is normally possible to vary a will provided that the application is made within two years of...

• Cohabitees and Death - Who Can Claim?

• When one member of a cohabiting couple dies, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to the bereaved partner to discover that not all of their late partner s estate will pass to them in the absence of a will. It is only when this happens that many people...

• Estates - What Happens if Values Fall?

• One of the biggest problems now facing executors is that as the recession progresses, most assets, other than cash, are falling in value, which can mean that the value of an estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes is greater than the market value later on....

• Heir Hunters - Take Advice!

• Until the recent publicity afforded by television shows on the subject, many people might not have realised that heir tracing companies exist, let alone that they research promising estates by looking at public records and then contact potential...

• How do I Leave Money to Charity in My Will?

• It's easy to include a charity in your will, but you should always consult your solicitor before you write or change your will to be sure it reflects your exact intentions and that you understand its implications. Before you call your adviser, take a...

• Lasting Powers of Attorney

• In October 2007 there was a fundamental change on the way in the way powers of attorney are created and the powers that they can give attorneys, when the Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) was replaced by the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). EPAs are no...

• The Unclaimed Assets Register

• Many people have assets which they have forgotten about old bank accounts, shares or premium bonds for example. If you think you or a relative may have lost track of some of their assets a search of the register (which costs 18) may be worthwhile. So far,...

• What Happens on Intestacy?

• In spite of the best endeavours of the legal profession, as well as frequent blandishments in the press, a surprising proportion of people still die without having made a will. Some people, no doubt, think that provided there is no liability for...

• What Happens on Intestacy?

• The levels of statutory legacy (the amount that surviving spouses or civil partners are allowed to inherit if their spouse/civil partner dies without leaving a will) were increased from 1 February 2009 to the following: 250,000 (from 125,000) where...

• What is Undue Influence?

• There have been a considerable number of cases over the last couple of years in which families (mainly) have sought to have wills invalidated, alleging that the will was written under the undue influence of someone close to the testator. The law...

• What is a Spouse?

• Under the Housing Act (S17) a spouse has the right to succeed, in most circumstances, to an assured tenancy where he or she was cohabiting with the deceased spouse immediately before the death. Whilst that is all reasonably clear, the definition of what...

• What is a Trust?

• A trust comes into effect when a settlor places money, land or other assets in the hands of trustees. The trustees are the legal owners of the property but are obliged to hold and manage the property for the benefit of a person or a group of people, who...

• When Wills Will or Won't

• For a will to be valid, it must meet three criteria in relation to the person making the will: They must understand the effect of the will; They must understand and recollect the extent of the property which is the subject of the will; and ...

• Who is Under the Influence?

• The law recognises that some people (such as solicitors or accountants) have a high degree of influence over other people (their clients), since clients hire their professional advisers for the specific purpose of giving advice. However, it is not...