Estatesearch Nominated for Seven Industry Awards
Leading legal technology provider Estatesearch has been nominated for seven industry awards so far in 2024. Ben Furlong, Managing Director, Estatesearch confirmed: “It was a pretty big year last year when we celebrated Estatesearch’s five year anniversary, but 2024 is already on track to be incredible too! We have now exceeded our 100,000 milestone for […]
Man poisoned couple and rewrote will
In a case at Chelmsford Crown Court, 34-year-old Luke D’Wit faces allegations of murdering Stephen Baxter, 61, and Carol Baxter, 64, the proprietors of Cazsplash, a shower mat company in West Mersea, Essex. Prosecutors claim that D’Wit, who described himself as being like an adopted son to the couple, fatally poisoned them with fentanyl in […]
ERC updates standards to provide additional customer protections
The Equity Release Council has unveiled updates to its consumer protection standards, following an extensive review and consultations with stakeholders. These updates, mandatory for all member entities, aim to bolster customer safeguards, ensuring comprehensive information dissemination and adherence to best practices in products and services. Set to be implemented from March 1st, 2024, the initial […]
Probate service enquiry line revised opening hours
From Wednesday 14th February 2024, for a period of 12 weeks, the probate enquiry phoneline will run from 9am to 1pm from Monday to Friday. You can still contact the probate service via webchat from 9am to 5pm on all weekdays. Applications will continue to be granted as usual and should continue to be submitted […]
ILM teams up with Farewill
The Institute of Legacy Management (ILM) has teamed up with will writing firm Farewill to help its charity members boost the number of legacies they receive. The move will see the ILM providing consultancy services, working with Farewill to ensure its free will service meets the needs of charities, including the levels of protection and […]
Man donates £100k inheritance to charities following unique community decision process
David Clarke, a 34-year-old researcher from Liverpool, has taken an unconventional approach to philanthropy by donating his £100,000 inheritance to local charities, with the decision-making power handed over to a group of 12 residents from the L8 postcode area, as reported by The Guardian. Clarke’s aim was to address social inequality, believing his financial situation […]
Women in Wills announce new chair
The Today’s Media team recently announced the opening of a new role within the popular networking group Women in Wills. Applications for a Chair of the group opened in January and we were flattered to see numerous members submit fantastic applications demonstrating their support and ideas for its development. Women in Wills was set up […]
Block Policies: The Risks for Law Firms and their PI
If you’re responsible for insuring an unoccupied property during probate, standard insurance often won’t be suitable, so block policies seem convenient and affordable. But hold on! These policies often hide conditions and exclusions that could leave you and your clients with issues in the event of a claim. This article explains the risks and offers […]
Court of Protection Property and Affairs Update: TA v the Public Guardian [2023] EWCOP 63
Introduction 1. The decision of TA v the Public Guardian [2023] EWCOP 63 has just been published. It is one of very few Court of Protection decisions from 2023 touching upon its property and affairs jurisdiction so, for me as a regular in that arena, it’s exciting stuff. 2. The issue in the case was the extent […]
The importance of performance management over appraisals
Hamza Hafesji, Group Product Manager at Advanced Legal, joins the latest Today’s Wills and Probate podcast to discuss the importance of implementing a culture of performance management in a business. For years the only time most employees receive any sort of constructive feedback has been in an annual appraisal. For Hamza, something has to fundamentally […]
Times up on the remote execution of wills – but for how long?
We wrote in August 2020 that the Government announced that legislation would be introduced to allow remote electronic witnessing of wills but this was only to be temporary (blog link here). Time is now up and remote execution of wills is no longer permitted in England and Wales from 31 January 2024 onwards. This does not […]
