Remember A Charity has announced the appointment of Lucinda Frostick as its new director, to lead the 200-strong charity consortium in its aim to grow the legacy market and normalise gifts in Wills. Since its

Five interns have started their six-week paid internship at the Law Society of England and Wales, as part of their participation in the #10000BlackInterns initiative. The initiative was founded to help broaden career opportunities for

Resignation rates remain high with many root causes for why women may be leaving their employer or workforce altogether – creating an opportunity for employers to help extend women’s careers and retain a wealth of

James Allie, a partner with London-based firm Spence & Horne has been fined and struck-off the roll for transferring ownership of a client’s home into his own name following her death. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal

Growing number of over 70s risk large IHT bills

Since 2002, the number of over 70s choosing to cohabit with their partners rather than marry or enter civil partnership increased by 288%, and by doing so could inadvertently be putting their homes at risk.

A new law firm – Barton Law Limited, has launched to provide equity release legal services direct to consumers and via independent financial advisers across the UK – www.bartonlawltd.co.uk. The newly regulated company is headed

LawTech continues to play an important role in cementing the UK’s position as a leading global legal centre, the Law Society of England and Wales said following the publication of LawTechUK’s Impact Assessment report. Law

Charities Act 2022 implementation plan published

The DCMS has published its implementation plan for the Charities Act 2022 which received Royal Assent in February. Implementation is expected to take place in three phases; Autumn 2022, Spring 2023 and Autumn 2023 which

Banks, Building Societies & Grants of Probate

The SFE Conference 2022 takes place on 23rd June and this year’s event brings you another day long, in-depth case study to tackle with expert speakers. This time the challenge will be to unpick the

Podcast: "let’s talk charity legacy" from IDR Law

Hannah Brittain, IDR Law’s Head of Charity Legacy Disputes sat down with Matthew Lagden, CEO of ILM to have a candid chat about all things legacy related covering everything from the basics, such as what

Industry writes open letter to OPG over "failing" service and increasing delays

The Office of Public Guardian (OPG) has published new blog posts outlining frequently asked questions it encounters when creating an LPA. Recent news reports and discussion on social media sites, such as LinkedIn, have highlighted

More needs to be done to ensure disabled, vulnerable and older people are not negatively affected by new digital Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) services announced by government as it concluded its consultation on these,

The UK has started its free trade agreement (FTA) talks with Mexico, with solicitors’ leaders hoping negotiators will lock in current legal services market access and increase trade in other sectors. The International Trade Secretary

The Pension SuperFund (PSF) has announced the appointment of eight Non-Executive Directors (NED)/Board members, covering both the corporate and sponsor operational sides of the business. David Barral: ex CEO of Aviva UK Life and also

MOJ issues response to Modernising LPA consultation

The Ministry of Justice has published its response to the Modernising Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) consultation. Launched in July 2021 the Modernising LPA project which sought responses via industry consultation, aimed to increase safeguards,

Equity release boosts UK economy by £3.8bn

Older homeowners accessing the value held in their homes via lifetime mortgages and other forms of equity release are directly adding nearly £1.8 billion in GVA across the UK economy, according to a new report

Retirement Living Standards now accessible to 35 million savers

Up to 35 million savers now have access to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)’s Retirement Living Standards through their pension scheme’s communications. In total, 124 organisations are using the Standards, including over 100

LexisNexis Bellwether Report: legal tech is dividing firms

Many small law firms are thinking big when it comes to the tech they need to see them through another period of profound change. But the latest research from LexisNexis’ Bellwether report shows that 47%

Three in four UK adults likely to experience a will dispute

New research from IBB Law reveals key statistics around will disputes. In January 2022, IBB Law conducted a survey of 1,000 UK citizens who had been involved in a will, inheritance, or probate dispute over

Women in Wills

Women in Wills is delighted to be hosting its next in-person event on Thursday 26th May at The Jockey Club, Exeter Racecourse, with guest speaker Lucy Gill, Head of Legacies, Inheritance and Trust Disputes, and

SRA: views wanted on pre-paid funeral plans

Solicitors involved in pre-paid funeral plan work – and the wider public – are being asked for their views to help shape the approach of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in dealing with new rules

Industry writes open letter to OPG over "failing" service and increasing delays

A new industry body representing estate planners, the BEST Foundation, has organised and written an open letter to the OPG relating to problems within the service, particularly around delays to LPA registrations. The BEST Foundation

Safe Hands Plans: administrators warn customers will not be repaid

Administrators acting for the failed funeral plans provider Safe Hands Plans has revealed that it is not in a position to repay the £64m it needs to customers. FRP, the administrator acting for the Wakefield-based

Time to simplify the system as pensioners reclaim £22 million in overpaid tax from HMRC. Latest HMRC statistics show that between 1st January 2022 and 31st March 2022, it paid out £22,317,529 to people who

Thousands could risk pension poverty after divorce

Latest figures from the ONS show that in 2020, there were 103,592 divorces granted in England and Wales, but with the new no fault divorce law that came into force on the 6th April, this

22% of wills made through legal advisers include charitable bequest

New figures released today show that solicitors and Will-writers are playing an increasingly important role in charitable Will-writing, with more than 1 in 5 Wills handled by UK legal advisers (22%) now including a donation

Co-op Legal Services: revenue increase driven by probate and estate planning

Co-op Legal Services, the UK’s largest regulated provider of wills, estate planning and probate services, has reported a strong year of growth in its annual results with overall revenues having increased by 3% compared to

Prepaid probate plans have been the focus of much discussion and press in recent weeks, with some reports coining it the new “wild west” of the industry following the announcement that funeral plans will become

Latest HMRC figures show that IHT receipts for April 2021 to March 2022 are £6.1 billion, which is £0.7 billion higher than in the same period a year earlier. Commenting on the overall annual figures

The equity release market is continuing to expand following 2021’s return to growth, with the latest research from the Equity Release Council (ERC) showing a further increases in the number of equity release customers in

Tower Street Finance is pleased to announce that Robert Husband has been appointed as permanent CEO. Robert joined the business as interim CEO in the summer of 2021. Robert has spent the last 20 years

Solicitors maintained services to their clients through successive lockdowns and many reported solid business performance for the first year of the pandemic, according to the Law Society of England and Wales law management section Financial