Italy is the cheapest place to die, according to Legal4Italy’s Alessandro Taddei
Italy is the cheapest place to die in Europe according to Legal4Italy’s Alessandro Taddei. Alessandro runs a firm from Rome, dealing with a variety of British and other foreign clients on a range of subjects including wills and probate as well as house purchase. According to Alessandro, the inheritance rules in Italy are significantly different […]
A Close Shave for a Financial Advisor, and a Haircut for a Solicitor
Herring and Anor v Shorts Financial Services LLP [2016] EW Misc B12
New Today’s Wills & Probate Website Launches
Welcome, dear readers, to the new look Today’s Wills & Probate. It’s been a little while in the pipeline, but I’m very pleased with how it looks. It’s going to change how we work a little, being much more image rich compared with our previous site, but we will still be focusing on quality stories […]
Attention Will Writers – Are you up to date?
The Legal Services Guild (LSG) are pleased to announce that our very own Barrister, Nigel Walker-Jennings, is running a series of CPD updates throughout the country. He will be informing Estate Planners of the recent legislation changes including the Residence Nil Rate Band. We will be holding the updates at the locations and dates below: […]
Affinity Wills snapped up by Just Wills and Legal Services
Just Wills and Legal Services (JWALS) have bought Essex-based Affinity Wills Group through its vehicle. PHDM Holdings. The acquisition was completed on 18th May. JWALS say they are aiming to become the leading home-visit wills, estate planning and probate service in the UK and have recently also bought up Questor UK Ltd and Cheshire Wills. Affinity […]
Sir James Munby writes to MoJ in support of increased probate fees
Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division at the High Court has written to the Ministry of Justice in support of the proposed probate fees reform. The proposed regime includes a potential huge increase in fees, proportionate the the size of the estate the applicant stands to inherit. Writing on behalf of the Judicial Executive […]
Supermen Webinar No.18 – Estate Planning tips and tricks, frequently overlooked opportunities & an introduction to the Processing and Administration Department
See what’s in stall for the next Supermen Webinar, brought to you by Countrywide Tax & Trust Corporation.
Equity Release Council welcomes new member
OneFamily Lifetime Mortgages have joined the Equity Release Council after launching their first equity release product earlier in the month. As well as OneFamily, the Equity Release Council is now made up of Aviva, Bridgewater, Hodge Lifetime, Just Retirement and Partnership (now part of JRP Group), LV=, more 2 life, Retirement Advantage (formerly Stonehaven) and […]
What is Google ‘My Business’ and how can it help generate wills and probate enquiries?
Editor Assist is offering a free Google My Business health check as part of our service.
Launch of Editorial Publicity Programme for Wills & Probate Sector
The founders of Today’s Wills and Probate have launched Editor Assist, a monthly subscription service aimed at helping will writers and probate professionals reach their communities through tailored news and editorial content. The service, priced from £100 per month, is aimed at establishing its subscribers as voices of authority in their local areas on the […]
Only 7% of wills and power of attorney enquiries followed up
UK Mystery Shopping Law Firm Survey finds only 7% of wills and power of attorney enquiries are followed up. Shopper Anonymous presented the results of the largest ever UK mystery shopping survey for law firms at Legalex last week. The study involved 85 law firms who volunteered to take part and consisted of 400 one-to-one […]
Defining an unwise decision
When teaching around the practicalities of assessing mental capacity, the notion of unwise decisions vs incapacitous decisions is always raised – “Has everybody heard of the term ‘unwise decision’?” and “Can anyone give me a definition?”
Law firm raises over £3,500 for Will Aid
West Midlands based Talbots Solicitors have managed to raise £3,585 for Will Aid charities after agreeing to participate in the scheme in November last year. The scheme was run for nine Will Aid charities, and involved trusts and estates lawyers from the firm agreeing to prepare Wills for members of the public, free of charge, […]
Paying for care a far bigger issue than inheritance tax says estate planner
Care home fees are eroding estates much faster than any inheritance tax will according to one estate planner. The relief available to people looking to fund long term care for the infirm or elderly as much smaller with costs coming in at a much lower level of savings when compared to inheritance tax or even […]
Widow challenges will that left her £36,000 out of £12 million estate despite serving divorce papers
A widow who left her husband two years before he died – serving divorce papers just two months his death – is challenging the will which left her just £36,000 of his £12 million fortune. Nigel Vindis, who owned nationwide car dealership Vindis Group, died in 2013. During the latter stages of his illness he […]
Leaving the EU could vastly increase inheritance tax on European estates, according to international legal expert
Those with property or money abroad could face huge increases in inheritance tax on foreign-based estates if the UK votes to leave the EU, according to one UK based lawyer. Sara Janion works for Worldwide Lawyers and says that the tax liability for those outside the EU inheriting property inside is often much higher, with […]
Anti Money Laundering: Tweak your systems for 4MLD
Changes under the 4th Money Laundering Directive will provide new opportunities to identify beneficial owners, but the other main requirements seem likely to stay the same, says Katie Jackson of Honne Ltd – Risk and Compliance Consultants. The 4th Money Laundering Directive from the European Union is due for implementation soon. Barring a Brexit, and […]
Jackson Canter buys local rival Lees Solicitors
North-west based firm Jackson Canter has doubled in size after buying up regional rival Lees Solicitors. QualitySolicitors member Jackson Canter currently have two officers in Liverpool City Centre and one in Manchester whilst 127 year old Lees have three on the Wirral peninsula, in Birkenhead, Heswall and West Kirby. Jackson Canter now employ over 280 […]
Law Society mark Dying Matters Awareness Week by calling on public to plan for future
The Law Society have called on the public to take sorting their wills out off the back burner and put their affairs in order at the beginning of Dying Matters Awareness Week. Society President Jonathan Smithers also warned against taking unregulated practitioners on and engaging a qualified solicitor to write a will. The Society also […]
Local newspaper notice placement for deceased estates now online
The Gazette now offers a complete deceased estates notice placement service, so you can place a notice in both a local newspaper and online in The Gazette in one easy step. This service has been developed as a result of feedback from probate professionals, who expressed an interest in placing notices in both a local […]
