High Court test case will decide whether WhatsApp messages are legally binding
A divorced artist who claims her ex-husband signed over their £1.5 million home to her via WhatsApp after their split is locked in a High Court test case fight with trustees to keep it. London-based painter Hsiao Mei-Lin married Icelandic financier Audun Mar Gudmundsson in 2009, but the pair had a troubled marriage and separated […]
Arken Legal publishes industry response on the modernisation of wills
Estate planning technology company Arken Legal has published an industry response to the Law Commission’s proposed reforms to wills law in England and Wales. Modernising Wills: An Industry Response has been prepared in collaboration with practitioners, professional bodies and technology providers following an industry roundtable hosted by Arken in October. The publication brings together perspectives from across the industry, with contributors representing organisations […]
Joint CLC-STEP Advanced Probate Exemption offers streamlined route to licensed probate practice
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has introduced an Advanced Probate Exemption to provide Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) professionals with a clear and streamlined route to enhance their professional status and obtain a specialist licence from the CLC. By securing a CLC licence to practice, STEP professionals gain defined practice rights as […]
FCA launches Firm Checker to fight financial crime
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today launched Firm Checker, a tool for consumers to quickly and easily check whether firms are authorised to provide financial services. Around 800,000 people reported losing money to investments or pensions‑related scams in the 12 months to May 2024, according to FCA research. The regulator has launched Firm Checker […]
Budget prompts surge in estate planning, survey finds
Households are reassessing long-term financial security following the budget, with a fifth of respondents to a post-budget survey confirming they are planning to make or update their will following the chancellor’s announcements. The survey of 2,500 adults by national law firm Shakespeare Martineau revealed the budget prompted 21% of respondents look at their estate planning […]
The Wills & Probate Conference returns to Leeds in March
The Wills & Probate Conference will return to Leeds for the third time in March, with organisers promising the biggest and most comprehensive conference yet. The event will be staged in the city’s Hilton Hotel on the 12th March, bringing together industry experts to explore managing risk and compliance in the wills and probate sector. […]
Digitisation, reform and modernisation; a year of Today’s Wills and Probate Podcasts
The Today’s Wills and Probate Podcast was launched in 2022 with the aim of introducing listeners to the organisations and individuals who contribute to the success of the wills and probate sector. Over the previous four series, and 75 episodes the podcast has covered topics from the great wealth transfer, digitisation and modernisation, free and […]
Electronic wills: Opportunity or undue influence?
Are electronic wills the future, or does going digital place some clients at greater risk of coercion and undue influence? Andy Hitchon, head of LEAP Estates, examines the main risks linked to digital will writing and what private client practitioners can do to overcome them. Estate lawyers are well used to evolution. With legal […]