Reminder: Wills consultation paper ends on Friday 8th December

The Law Commission launched their Supplementary Consultation Paper on 5th October 2023, and the consultation period will run until 8th December 2023. The Supplementary Consultation Paper is a re-consultation on two discrete issues: electronic wills and the rule that a marriage or civil partnership revokes an existing will. Responses may be sent to them using […]

Laws on Burial, Cremation and New Funerary Methods to be reviewed

The Law Commission has announced details of its review of the law governing how we deal with the bodies of loved ones when they die. The project is being split into three strands : Burial law is governed by a patchwork of different legislation including different laws depending on who is responsible for a burial […]

UK pensioners affected by DWP errors, report reveals

Parliament’s spending watchdog has reported significant issues within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), affecting over 200,000 pensioners, as reported by The Guardian. These individuals collectively missed out on £1.3 billion last year due to poor record keeping. An earlier error also resulted in 165,000 pensioners not receiving £1.2 billion. The Public Accounts Committee’s […]

Legacy income up 7.6% to £3.9bn, data reveals

Annual legacy income for England and Wales has risen by 7.6% to £3.9 billion, according to Smee & Ford data. The data, up to the end of October 2023, shows that approximately 13.5% of probated estates with wills are charitable. Smee & Ford is forecasting around 36,500 charitable estates by the end of the year, which […]