Consumer Duty Q&A
The FCA’s new Consumer Duty principle promotes higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services and comes into force on 31 July 2023. We spoke to Ollie Wright, Head of the Financial Institutions Team at Estatesearch to find out the implications for legal firms and how Estatesearch is working with organisations to help […]
CMA sounds alarm on will writing and pre-paid probate
Will writing and pre-paid probate are the focus of a new review into unregulated legal services, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced. The review comes amidst concerns that not all providers are complying with consumer protection law. The CMA noted that “customers now have many alternatives to the conventional law firms on the […]
Deaths resulting in IHT charge up 17% year-on-year – HMRC
The number of UK deaths resulting in an inheritance tax (IHT) charge increased by 17% to 27,000 estates in the tax year 2020-21 from the previous period, new data released by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) shows. HMRC also revealed that IHT tax liabilities in 2020-21 were £5.76 billion, up £800 million (16%) compared to the […]
Homes awaiting probate may receive year’s council tax exemption
The UK government is considering temporarily exempting properties awaiting probate from the increase in the council tax surcharge for vacant or second homes in England, as reported by STEP. The surcharges were first introduced in England in 2013 and then increased in 2018 – when the premium tax rate was increased to 100% for houses […]
Conservatives ponder scrapping IHT ahead of general election
Downing Street is currently holding talks about scrapping inheritance tax (IHT) as part of its manifesto ahead of the general election, as reported by The Times. HMRC’s second update for 2023/24 revealed £1.2 billion was collected by the Treasury through the first two months of the 2023/24 Financial Year. It marked a 13% increase from […]
‘Urgent clarification’ demanded on proposals to change income tax rules on inheriting pensions
HM Revenue & Customs has been called upon to “urgently clarify” its proposals to significantly change the tax treatment of beneficiary pensions. Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter, described the way the proposals have been put forward as “relatively underhanded” having come buried within HMRC’s policy paper on the abolition of the lifetime […]
Half of millionaires have done no IHT planning and 1 in 5 have no will, study finds
44% of individuals with assets totalling £1 million or more have not sought any advice on inheritance tax planning, a new study has revealed. What’s more, according to research conducted by Investec Wealth & Investment, 21% of millionaires do not have a will in place to guide the division of their estate. It was also […]
