Genealogy study – the argument for vaccinations
Debate continues to rage among sectors of the population about the rapidly developed vaccinations against Covid-19. Our attention was drawn to a recent tweet where someone had talked about his family—an uncle who survived polio and was now 70, and another who caught scarlet fever that resulted in pancreatic failure, and was dead at 36. […]
MyHMCTS: planned improvements to online probate service
The Law Society has issued a press release on behalf of MyHMCTS detailing improvements and changes that will be made to the online probate service, effective from 19 August 2021. The changes are based on feedback from probate practitioners, and are as listed below. Changes from 19 August 2021 You can amend all parts of […]
Could an increase in equity release clients generate a capacity crisis?
Applicants may be more demanding due to larger sums at stake, but legal professionals must ensure their assessment of a client’s mental capacity is up to the mark Legal professionals may be experiencing more pressure than usual from prospective equity release customers as buoyant house prices and inflation drive record demand. The desire to release […]
Law firms in SRA firing line over AML failures
The fines levied by the SRA on 13 firms in recent weeks continue to demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding around responsibilities when it comes to the money laundering regulations. The firms in question had failed to comply with their procedural responsibilities to provide their firm-wide AML risk assessment and delayed their AML declarations. In […]
Improving customer experience in the probate industry
I want to ask you a simple question, is there more that the probate sector could be doing to improve the client experience throughout the estate administration process? I believe some improvements could be implemented to speed up the estate administration process to allow probate practitioners to deliver a smoother journey for customers at what […]
Technical Corner: Here Comes the Sun!
Our ‘Technical Corner’ brings you information that will help you to continue to grow and develop in your career. This month’s technical corner article comes from Amy Bell, Director at Teal Compliance If you have any questions for our panel of experts, please submit them using the contact form below. We will publish the questions […]
Post Pandemic Probate Litigation
The future Conduct of Hearings With lockdown it became clear that Courts would have to operate remotely. Hearings by Microsoft Teams and electronic bundles became the new normal in the Business and Property Courts. An astonishing amount of business was conducted without too much difficulty or too much footfall on the HMCTS Estate. Without the […]
Free webinar: ‘Estate administration case studies: Where there’s a Will, there’s a relative’
Join Kings Court Trust’s experienced Technical Manager, Nigel Merchant, on Wednesday 4th August at 1pm, as he walks you through a selection of estate administration case studies that they have been instructed to help on. The case studies all highlight the importance of a valid Will and include scenarios where all is not as it […]
Meet Alpha Legal superstars Legacy Wills – “because today was once tomorrow”
Legacy Wills are the latest Alpha Legal subscriber to be featured on our blog. Based in Leicester and serving clients throughout the UK, Legacy Wills are one of our busiest Alpha Legal subscribers. They make great use of our secure communication technology to help their clients to gain peace of mind when sorting their will and estate planning needs. The Legacy Wills […]
Bishop & Sewell appoints Access Legal to unlock firm’s potential
Central London law firm Bishop & Sewell has appointed law technology specialist Access Legal, a division of The Access Group, as it continues to focus on its three key principles – Purpose, People and Pathway. The 110-strong firm has ambitions to not only be an independent top 100 law firm, but to also be ranked […]
Give STEP your feedback and they’ll donate £1 the World Literacy Foundation*
STEP are looking for feedback from practitioners (whether you are a member of STEP or not) so that they can better understand your priorities and focus their offering. This research will allow STEP to continually improve the services they provide. Access the survey here and help the World Literacy Foundation, who work to ensure every […]
4 day week for leading software company
Arken.legal, experts in digital estate planning solutions, has introduced a four-day working week for full time employees following a hugely successful nine-month trial. Since October 2020, all full-time employees at the firm have had Fridays off – with the exception of two staff who take a different day to ensure cover – but have maintained […]
Hammond funds historic car restoration business with his own vehicles
Richard Hammond has put up eight of his vehicles to be sold by Silverstone Auctions at The Classic at Silverstone on Sunday 1 August. All proceeds are to support his new business venture The Smallest Cog, a classic vehicle restoration business that will be documented in Richard Hammond’s Workshop (working title), a brand-new original docuseries […]
Vulnerable client detection tech closes pre-launch funding round
Newly launched clinical tech provider, Comentis, has announced that it closed a pre-launch funding round at £200,000, against a pre-revenue valuation of £2million. Funding has been secured from a number of senior figures from legal and financial services, with the support of Invest West. Comentis’ software – the Cognitive Assessment Engine (CAE) – utilises cutting-edge […]
Experts call for urgent action to fill care fund vacuum
Consumer education, product innovation and property renovation must be among the priorities to support a more sustainable social care sector, experts have warned. The comments were made when a panel met to discuss the findings of an Equity Release Council, Pure Retirement and My Care Consultant report on housing wealth and the social care funding […]
5 Tips for boosting your marketing performance
It can be pretty disheartening sometimes, seeing social media posts go unnoticed, ranking low on google search priority, and struggling to gain followers on your pages. And that’s understandable, growing a brand can be difficult and often time consuming work. So here’s 5 of my go-to tips for improving your marketing. Put Search Engine Optimisation […]
CMA to get new powers of enforcement
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has announced a major shake-up of the Competition and Markets Authority’s powers. The CMA has been instrumental in the drive toward greater pricing transparency for consumers and more recently has intervened in the leasehold ground rents scandal that has resulted in Aviva and Persimmon Homes announcing they would remove certain terms […]
New entrant tech provider expands service
A new digital platform has been launched to help accountants that manage probate cases to streamline inefficient and costly processes with easier estate management and case administration. Exizent is the first ever platform to connect data, services and the network of people involved when someone passes away. It enables users to capture all estate information […]
Charities and families call for action to combat “predatory marriage”
Fraudsters are targeting older and vulnerable people, hoping to marry them and pocket their lifetime savings, charities and families have warned. Research conducted by the i Newspaper has revealed more than 70 people who shared tales of their loved ones falling prey to fraudsters who married them for their money. Campaigners are now calling for […]
Hybrid working to offer greater social mobility
Professional jobs are on the up, but the lack of diversity is stalling progression in professional services. Hybrid and flexible working could provide an opportunity to change the current status quo in the legal profession, according to the Law Society of England and Wales. The Social Mobility Commission’s state of the nation report 2021 found […]
