No-one could have predicted this year and how it has turned out and I am sure I speak for many that it is a year that we would be happy to see the back of. Turn the clock back 12 months, and not many people would have been prepared for the consequences a worldwide pandemic would have on both the UK and the world.
Brexit was seemingly going to be the go-to word of the year for 2020, as the UK began a 12 month transition process. However, a couple of months into the year, the new word on everyone’s lips was coronavirus, or Covid-19.
Thousands of people have sadly lost their lives in the UK ,which had a huge impact on the Wills and Probate sector, whereby more and more people were thinking about the welfare of their loved ones and looking after their families financially by putting Wills firmly on their priority list.
With nationwide and local lockdowns, tiered restrictions and social distancing measures being introduced to help keep people safe, prevent the spread of the virus and keep the economy ticking along, the sector faced difficulties and challenges to carry out their legal obligations while maintaining safe social distances with their clients.
It has been a turbulent year like no other and there have undoubtedly been lows, but as we come to the end of 2020, the legal landscape is looking a lot different than it did 12 months ago. But one positive for the Wills and Probate industry is that more people are prepared to face their mortality and look at later life planning and the sector, which once shied away from a digital world, has now taken big steps into 21st century by realising the power of digital technology.
Video Wills
At the end of September, the Wills Act 1837 (Electronic Communications) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Order 2020 SI 2020/952 come into force – amending s9 of the Wills Act to permit live
video “presence”, retrospectively from 31 January 2020 and temporarily to 31 January 2022 in England and Wales.
The new rules were backdated to 31 January 2020 and allow testators’ signatures to be witnessed using video conferencing software, such as Zoom, Facetime and Skype.
The changes to the law allowed Wills to be witnessed virtually in England and Wales. The move allowed people to legally record their final wishes, during the pandemic, remotely.
However, professionals have been firmly advised to stick to the current law of requiring two physical witnesses where it is feasibly possible and video Wills should be a last resort for their clients in order to protect people against undue influence and fraud.
Electronically Signed Deeds
The Lord Chancellor made electronically signed deeds legal in England and Wales at the start of March this year. The Chancellor said that electronic signatures “are permissible and can be used in confidence in commercial and consumer documents”.
In August, The Partnership became the first firm to submit electronically signed Deeds to HM Land Registry, using SignIT from InfoTrack.
In July, HM Land Registry announced the intention to accept electronic signatures on deeds provided they follow certain rules. Further to the announcement, The Partnership used InfoTrack’s SignIT, electronic signature software, to have the vendor sign deeds alongside a witness.
MyHMCTS Online Probate System Becomes Mandatory For Practitioners
Followed legislation laid in Parliament in October, it became mandatory for probate professionals to submit probate forms and applications online from 2nd November.
HM Courts and Tribunals Services (HMCTS) and other professionals have been continually urging probate practitioners and firms to sign up and start using ‘MyHMCTS’ for probate applications.
The Government promises a ‘quicker and more reliable’ probate service so HMCTS is encouraging legal professionals to use the online services by creating a ‘MyHMCTS’ account, which “provides a single place for legal professional and other organisations to issue, pay for and manage applications within civil and family courts and tribunals.”
The statutory instrument mandates that legal professionals use the online system in most cases where possible from 2nd November. However, where cases are more complex, involving multiple claimants where the deceased has no will, paper forms will still be allowed to ensure that proper manual checks ensue.
More recently, after the mandatory roll out of online applications since the beginning of November, HMCTS confirmed an extension to the grace period saying “There was an initial grace period until 30 November 2020 when paper applications will still be accepted to give professional users time to prepare, this has since been extended to 11 January 2021 for to allow firms to resolve any outstanding issues with their application for a HMCTS Fee Account and/or to register for MyHMCTS and set up users within their firm. After 11 January 2021 all applications except the confirmed exceptions must be submitted using the online service. Users who have or can register are urged to continue to use the online service in the intervening period.”
New Bill to increase State Pension
In October, the Government proactively ensured State Pension increases, despite current legislation.
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, introduced a technical Bill in the House of Commons which gives the Government jurisdiction to increase it next year to avoid a State Pension freeze.
The Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 23rd September to ensure that pensioners can be supported with an increase in State Pension and Pension Credit Rates for 2021/22.
Currently legislation only allows there to be increase if there has been a rise in average earnings ‘in the relevant period of the preceding year.’
Bereavement Standard
In September, a Bereavement Standard Petition recorded over 75,000 supporters calling on the government to act quickly and back proposals for a new account closure standard, bringing to a halt to unnecessary stress for grieving families.
The petition, at change.org/bereavementstandard, was launched by mother and daughter, Julie and Vicky Wilson, from Easington, County Durham, who have founded Settld, a new online app which is designed to speed up the account closure process.
The Bereavement Standard would set a time limit for account closures, standardise paperwork and documents required, and ensure service providers have dedicated bereavement channels with properly trained staff, available to customers.
Money Laundering Regulations
The Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) ensued at the beginning of 2020 as we entered a new decade, superseding the Money Laundering Regulations from 2017.
Professionals and firms had to ready themselves for 5AMLD coming into force on the 10th January 2020.
The pandemic continues to have a big impact on the legal landscape, with some firms faring better than others. The legal industry and many others are facing challenging times but hopefully there will be light at the end of the tunnel as we slowly recover. The sector has seen many changes, where health, wellness and safety has now become top priorities for every firm, the workplace itself is looking very different from 6 months ago and may not change for the foreseeable future. It seems the consensus is that some new ways of working, including working from home rather than in the office, are here to stay for the time being and will see a significant impact on the everyday workings and culture of all firms.
What do you think 2021 holds for the sector?
