Solicitor jailed after £85,000 LPA fraud
A solicitor has been jailed and struck from the roll after stealing from vulnerable clients in a fraud involving Lasting Powers of Attorney. Alison Haley Griffiths, who specialised in wills and probate was convicted of fraud totalling over £85,000 and sentenced to 24 months in prison at Salisbury Crown Court. A subsequent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal […]
Lack of Wills take up should see alarm bells ringing ahead of national awareness campaign
A new survey ahead of Will Aid month in November has revealed 56% have never written a Will, while one in 10 admit theirs no longer reflects their wishes. 2,000 people across the UK were surveyed for the research which further identified over one in three (34%) indicating they are unlikely to write or update […]
Disputed inheritance leads to restraining order
A court has imposed a restraining order on a daughter after her inheritance was placed into a family trust sparking tension in the family. Genevieve Oriel has been restricted from seeing her elderly mother, Hilda Maunsell, for a period of five years after a court ruled her behaviour had been “persistent, intentional, and caused frustration”, […]
Ombudsman proposes first fee increase for 15 years
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is proposing increasing its case fee from £400 to £600; in the first change to pricing since charges were first introduced in 2010. The Law Society of England and Wales have described proposals to increase the fees charged by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) as “striking the right balance” in its response […]
39% of lawyers say not engaging with AI could harm their future careers
Nearly two thirds of lawyers are now using artificial intelligence to support the in their roles; but appear to be doing it off their own back with 17% of lawyers saying their firm has a ‘fully embedded’ AI strategy and operation, and two-thirds reporting their organisation’s AI culture is slow or non-existent. Adoption is up […]
Solicitor sanctioned for falsely stating she’d witnessed LPA in act of ‘misplaced compassion’ during COVID
A solicitor claimed the pressures of the pandemic brought about ‘misplaced compassion’ rather than any attempt to be dishonest in a recent Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal at which she was reprimanded for the failure to properly witness a lasting powers of attorney (LPA). In a case the tribunal described as ‘a reminder that even experienced professionals […]
Redefining legacy: Navigating inheritance law in Britain’s grey era
By the late 2070s, people aged 65+ will outnumber those under 18, reaching 2.2 billion globally making up 27% of the UK population The legal structures surrounding wills, trusts and estates face will need to evolve to meet the needs of this aging population. With that in mind, how could demographic shifts transform inheritance law, […]