Liam Payne £24.3m fortune left to intestacy rules as it’s revealed he had no Will
Liam Payne, the One Direction singer, who died after falling from a balcony in Argentina in 2024, left no Will with his estate now in the hands of his former partner and lawyer. Court documents have revealed Payne’s former partner and mother of his son, Cheryl Tweedy and music industry lawyer Richard Mark Bray have […]
Joint Statement on secondary transfer affecting Infected Blood scandal victims
Two representative and regulatory bodies are calling on the government to urgently reform a ‘critical gap’ identified in the tax liabilities of compensation paid to those affected by the Infected Blood scandal. More than 30,000 people were infected with HIV and hepatitis C in the 1970s and 1980s through contaminated blood products. Following a public […]
Just 2% of estate have used gifts out of surplus income gifting rule
A freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed just 2% of estates have used the gifts out of surplus income gifting rule; but its use could increase in the wake of the government’s pension reforms. 1,490 estates over the past three years for which data is available used the rule according to data requested by wealth […]
One-stop national chattels valuation service launches
A fixed-price full-service chattels valuation service has been launched specifically for probate professional in an attempt to alleviate the ‘fragmented’ approach of using multiple valuers for different categories of estate assets. Swift Values is a UK-wide probate valuation provider founded in 2024 specialising in valuations of personal property for inheritance tax, probate, and estate administration. […]
Updated Standards to waive early repayment charges in some cases – Equity Release Council
Early repayment fees for equity release customers who move in with relatives for the purposes of long term care will be waived in an update to Equity Release Council (ERC) standards clarifying the position. The updated version of its Standards and a new Customer Charter have been published by the in an effort to ‘set best […]
New judicial protocol launched for cross-border cases where clients lack capacity
Greater cross-border collaboration and communication in cases involving adults who lack capacity has been formalised between the relevant judiciary with the publishing of a new protocol. Signed representatives from Scotland (Paul Cullen The Rt Hon Lord Pentland, Lord President of the Court of Session), England and Wales (Rt Hon Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the […]
Principle 3 of The Mental Capacity Act – Unwise Decisions
Section 1(3) of the Mental Capacity Act states: ‘A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision unless all practicable steps to help him to do so have been taken without success’. This is often referred to as ‘The right to make unwise decisions’ What is an Unwise Decision We all […]
I can’t believe I get paid to do this!
In the latest episode of the Today’s Wills and Probate Podcast, host David Opie discusses the intriguing and often surprising world of probate genealogy with Eileen Lavelle, Regional Head at Anglia Research. Eileen offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to be a probate genealogist and how their work dovetails with the probate process. […]