Open letter calls on government to speed up will writing reform
An open letter signed by industry leaders and politicians has called on the government to speed up progress on making digital wills legally valid. Seven cross-party MPs, including Wera Hobhouse MP, Matt Bishop MP and Ayoub Khan MP have signed the letter. Signatories also include Sarah Williams, CEO of Accord Legal Services, Stephanie Patrick, chief […]
Court rules ‘IHT planning’ was attempt to avoid debts
The High Court has refused permission to appeal a ruling that declarations of trust made by a multi-millionaire accountant in favour of his wife must be set aside. Mr Justice Richards said the application from tax specialist John Dixon (pictured) had no “sufficiently real prospect of success” and allowed an application for possession and sale […]
Government defends probate fee increase
The government has defended the increase in the probate application fee, which went up by almost 75% earlier this week. A probate application now costs £526, up from £300. In a written House of Commons question, Liberal Democrat MP Monica Harding asked what assessment had been made of the potential impact of the increase on […]
Solicitors to pay more for Compensation Fund contributions
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has signalled it will shift a greater proportion of contributions to the Compensation Fund on to individual solicitors following its consultation on the 2026/27 business plan. Where currently 50% of fund resources comes from individual contributions and the other half from firms, the SRA is proposing a change to 70% […]
Legal Services Board has ‘lost its way’ independent review finds
An independent review of the Legal Service Board (LSB) commissioned in the wake of regulatory failures including Axiom Ince and SSB Law has concluded the organisation has “lost its way in recent years” and has “fallen short” of government and parliamentary expectations. The Legal Services Board Independent Public Bodies Review makes 10 recommendations on the future […]
Mandatory ethics proposals ‘unworkable and costly’ warns Law Society
Proposals by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to introduce mandatory ethics training for all solicitors would be “unworkable and costly”, the Law Society of England and Wales has said. Further plans to re-introduce requirements to record learning and development would “risk creating significant costs and administrative burdens without clear evidence of benefit”, it added. Following the […]
If compliance officers were footballers…
At TWPFest in June, a roundtable discussion examined the role of compliance in wills and probate and estate planning. Led by host Darren Leggett, managing director of Property Ladder Group, the delegates shared their views on standards, educating clients and the role of social media. If compliance officers were footballers they would work as […]