Will Wishes Reversed After Undue Pressure Was Placed On Donor
A recent case has emphasised the illegality of making a will under undue pressure as a Chinese speaking mother, lacking capacity, was forced to disinherit her married daughters by her traditionalist husband. Traditionalist, George Chin, had long lived to the ancient rhetoric that married daughters now belong to the husband’s family and should not inherit […]
Protect Your Business From The Persistent Dangers Of Email Fraud
The Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) and Institute of Scottish professional Willwriters (ISPW) have negociated a financially favourableagreement with the market setting email protection organisation ‘Beyond Encryption’ to ensure that all members are protected from the devastating impact of a cyber attack. Last year, email fraud became the preferred form of attack amongst cyber criminals. […]
Kingsley Napley’s Contentious Trust And Probate Quarterly Update
This quarterly contentious trust and probate litigation update provides a summary of a cross section of reported decisions handed down in the courts of England and Wales in the period December 2018 – March 2019. Whittaker v Hancock [2018] EWHC 3478 (Ch) The High Court has determined that a property and financial affairs attorney […]
Certainty Expert Webinars present: “Wills and Inheritance Disputes: What News from the Front?”
Mark Solon, Wilmington plc and Edward Hewitt, 5 Stone Buildings will be presenting the next edition of Certainty Expert Webinars on Wednesday 27th March 2019 at 12.00pm. Disputes concerning Wills and inheritance are often very acrimonious. They are frequently the stage on which deep-rooted family tensions are played out, often in public and at great […]
Over 25% Of SMEs Fail To Implement Any Cyber Security Measures
Only 8% of small to medium sized legal service providers have failed to implement any cyber security measures last year. In comparison, over a quarter of the UK’s small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have no cyber security measures or strategies in place. However, according to the ‘Would you be Ready for a Cyber Attack’ survey, […]
High Court Bin Wife’s Claim To Regain Financial Control From Trustees
The widow of Michael Cowen, owner of plastics company Hanmere Polythene Ltd, and the innovator who introduced the black plastic bin bag to UK homes, has lost a High Court battle to wrestle control of her late husband’s estimated £16 million fortune from the various trusts he had set up to protect his estate after […]
Kings Court Trust Appoints Simon Hancox As Chief Executive Officer
Kings Court Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Simon Hancox as its new Chief Executive Officer, replacing Tom Curran who will take on the role of Executive Chairman after nine years as CEO. Tom will remain on the Board of the business and will provide Simon and the business with ongoing advice and […]
Legal Eye Director Completes Lead Auditor Course
Legal Eye’s Director of Business Development, Jody Evans, has completed the ISO27001 Lead Auditor course. The achievement comes hot on the heels of Jody’s recent success in passing the stringent Lead Implementer course for the information security standard. Jody’s qualification strengthens Legal Eye’s ability to support law firms across the UK in setting up, maintaining […]
New Probate Fees Are Classified As Tax According To OBR Report
In the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook (OBR) Report published earlier this week, The Treasury is expecting the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to categorise probate fees as a ‘tax’. However, Lucy Frazer, the minister responsible for legal fees told parliament last month “What we are proposing is an enhanced fee, […]
Update On HMCTS’ New Legacy Notification Service
This month, the Institute of Legacy Management (ILM) and other key professionals from the charity sector attended the first meeting of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) working group on the new system which will alert charities to donations in Wills – following its announcement that Smee & Ford has been given notice on […]
Solicitors For The Elderly Celebrates Milestone National Conference
This June, SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly) celebrates its 20th National Conference and promises to deliver fascinating insights to specialists in older client law. The event, which is being held at the British Library Conference Centre on Thursday 20th June, will explore the theme of ‘20/20 vision’. Each topic is set to provide its guests […]
Arken Returns As Headline Sponsor
We are delighted to announce that global technological innovator for the legal services industry, Arken.legal, are returning as headline sponsors of the British Wills and Probate Awards 2019 for the second year running. The prestigious awards are solely dedicated to honouring excellence and success of those professionals working in the Wills and Probate industry. Following […]
Judge Issues A Warning On Contentious Probate Claim Deadlines
A High Court Judge issues a stark reminder after his recent decision resulted in a widow’s inheritance act claim, which contested her husband’s Will, being refused permission due to the deadline being passed. Those who wish to contest a Will have just six months to make claims against an estate if they believe they are […]
“I Promise To Always Do My Best…”
We all have a Duty of Care to our clients… When we take on the role of advising clients we strive to ensure that we do the very best for our clients and the advice we provide is exemplary, but are we really doing enough to protect our clients and ourselves when drafting Wills? Under […]
The Willwriting Academy Annual Conference Just A Week Away
We are now less than a week away from the Willwriting Academy Ltd Annual Conference and Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) and Institute of Scottish Professional Willwriters (ISPW) Annual General Meeting. Do not miss the opportunity to spend some quality time with the leaders and experts in the Wills and Estate Planning sector. In addition […]
Protect Your Firm And Clients From Cyber Criminals
Exclusive risk management solution provider, Lawyer Checker now offers Cyber Essentials certification to safeguard your firm from cyber criminals. Our expert understanding of the legal industry and the imminent potential cyber threats means that we are in a unique position to ensure that your business is protected from the main threats without delay. With the […]
What Is Bona Vacantia? And How A Genealogist Can Help
Bona Vacantia is a foreign term to most which translates to “ownerless goods” in Latin. It is the name given to ownerless property which by law passes to the Crown. In England and Wales, if a person dies intestate (without a Will) and they appear to have no known next of kin, their estate would […]
Cashless Society Could Leave Vulnerable Ostracised On Society’s Fringe
The use of cash in the UK has shrank by a third within a year. As the UK becomes increasingly cashless, it is feared that vulnerable people could be marginalised further and even forgotten unless the use of cash is protected. In 2017, 61% of all payments were made using cash in the UK. However, […]
Will Writers Urged To Advise Clients About Historic Policies
Over half of the population could be naively handing their inheritance to the wrong person. 54% of the population are unaware that their pension policy will be passed down to the person named on the policy, even if an updated will says otherwise. The study of more than 2,000 UK adults, completed by the Pheonix […]
From the Desk of the DG:
Marketing made Easy – CRM Software My last couple of articles have concentrated on getting your brand out into the market and getting recognised. A couple of points I will impress again, as it is all too easy to become disillusioned if business starts slow, unfortunately no one owes you a living, and what you […]
