Free webinar: Inheritance Tax and Gifting with Kings Court Trust
On Wednesday 31st January at 1pm, join Kings Court Trust for an overview of Inheritance Tax (IHT) and gifting. Technical Manager Nigel Merchant will cover: Considering an estate’s IHT position IHT payment and forms What counts as a gift and exempted gifts Potentially exempt transfers Gifts with reservation of benefit Hotchpot How allowances work and Nil Rate […]
Outsource elements of estate administration to Title Research in 2024
Professional Executors dealing with estate administration may come across hurdles in the process. Outsourcing the niche elements to an expert can expedite the process, ensuring that the estate is administered quickly and your clients receive their inheritance as soon as possible. For almost sixty years, Title Research has provided a range of genealogical research and […]
Video witnessing: January deadline looms
The COVID-19 pandemic catalysed unprecedented changes in many fields, including the legal sector. A significant amendment to the Wills Act 1837 exemplifies this shift. This amendment, introduced to accommodate the challenges posed by the pandemic, allowed wills to be validly executed if witnessed via video-link, adhering to the guidelines of the Wills Act 1837 (Electronic […]
Generational attitude differences could impact legacy decisions – study
New research has revealed important differences in the behaviours and attitudes towards legacy giving of the baby boomer generation (born 1945-1964) compared to Generation X (born 1965-1980), which could help charities better steward supporters into the future. The research, conducted by the Legacy Foresight research team at Legacy Futures, highlights the opportunities and challenges charities will face as Gen […]
“Mortgage laden” Gen X won’t clear loans before retirement
Research into Gen X has identified that over a quarter (27%) are not confident they would pay off their mortgage before age 67 with 13% firmly believing they wouldn’t and a further 14% unsure if they could. 45% of those who have a mortgage say it’s taking longer to pay off than hoped throwing a […]
Open call for evidence – Review of Civil Legal Aid
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) have announced they are to conduct a Review of Civil Legal Aid and have put out a call for evidence. The aim of this call for evidence is to obtain more information to further inform the Review of Civil Legal Aid and feed into policy development. This call for evidence. […]
Book Now for the Wills and Probate Conference 2024
The Wills and Probate Conference 2024 is taking place on 14th March 2024 and organised by Helen Forster, Managing Director of HTF Legal, sponsored by Estatesearch. Managing the Risks A full day of insight and discussion covering the latest technical developments and best practice for firms offering Wills and Probate services. The 2024 Wills and […]
Women in Wills invites applications for role of Chair
Women in Wills (WIW) is seeking an enthusiastic and visionary leader to take on the role of Chair for a 12-month tenure. This prestigious voluntary position offers a unique opportunity to steer and shape the future of WIW, a group dedicated to empowering women in the private client sector of the legal industry. With a […]
Vulnerable elders: A harrowing story and the lessons which need to be learnt
I was really shocked and immensely saddened to read this piece over Christmas – ‘My elderly father found a new partner – then vanished from my life’ – BBC News. Carolyn Stephens’ 78 year old, widowed father met a new partner on holiday in 2012. This encounter triggered a period of growing isolation, and eventually estrangement, […]
Common Questions in SWW Inbox: Discretionary Trusts
Welcome to the next instalment in a new series of articles from the SWW Technical Team; Common Questions in our Inbox. This instalment will be about one of the most common will trusts – discretionary trusts. A discretionary trust is a type of trust where the trustees are given complete discretion to pay or apply […]
Cohabitation: A Contentious Probate Perspective
The legal implications of cohabitation have been making headlines recently, with a number of changes to the entitlement of cohabitees to bring them more in line with married couples and civil partners. In 2017, we saw the Supreme Court disapply the requirement for pension nomination forms to be completed for cohabitees to benefit. The following […]
