A woman who spent decades trying to fulfil her mother’s dying wish to track down her biological family had the shock of her life when she learned a team of professional heir hunters was trying

Neil Fraser

The Government’s quiet reinstatement of a public list of unclaimed estates has raised fresh questions about transparency, and whether a probe to probate fraud has addressed the real risks, according to leading probate genealogy firm

two tier system for probate copy fees

While the public and legal community face a 967% fee jump to £16 for a copy Will, a specific clause in the Statutory Instrument appears to keep commercial bulk data access at the nominal £1.50

Fraser and Fraser, a name associated with professional genealogy and probate research, is immensely proud to announce their win as the Financial and Professional Services Family Business of the Year, at the notable Family Business

A majority of professional advisers believe recent inheritance tax (IHT) developments will increase the number of charitable legacies, according to a recent survey from the Remember A Charity consortium. The research found that more than

We are excited to welcome Stephen Lawson, Partner at IDR Law, TEP CTAPS, Chair Law Society Wills & Equity Committee and Ian Bond, TEP, Former Chair Law Society Wills & Equity Committee to our webinar.

Proposals to reform the Wills Act are long overdue and should be welcomed, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) has said. Last month the Law Commission published a list of 31 recommendations for

Many people in the UK are confused about estate planning, writing a will and the laws of succession, latest research shows. A survey published last week by financial services giant Canada Life found that almost

A 76-year-old woman with dementia “had no idea what was going on” when her daughter guided her hand to sign a will, a court has heard. Margaret Baverstock was extremely unwell and in the last

Inheritance tax (IHT) contributed £7bn to the Treasury between April 2024 and January 2025, a rise of £700m on the corresponding period for the previous year. The rise has been attributed to the ongoing freeze

The number of people over state pension age is projected to increase from 12 million in 2022 to 13.7 million by 2032, according to figures released last month by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The number of families waiting over a year for a grant of probate more than doubled over the past three years, and that figure could surge once pensions become liable to inheritance tax (IHT). In

A total of 79 divorces that were wrongly approved following a computer error are legally valid, the High Court has ruled. The divorce applications were submitted one day before they should have been according to

Almost 40 million people (around 70 per cent of UK adults) have not written a will, according to a recent survey. The research, commissioned by Co-Op Legal Services, found that more than half of those

fraser and fraser

Fraser and Fraser, a leading probate research firm, is thrilled to announce its participation in Living Wage Week. As a company deeply committed to ethical business practices and social responsibility, Fraser and Fraser is proud

A partially destroyed will has led a family into a High Court battle over an £800,000 estate. The case was sparked when 92-year-old Carry Keats partially ripped up her will while in hospital during the

Graveyard

There were more than 16,000 fewer births than deaths in the UK in the year to mid-2023. Excluding the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic, this is the first time deaths have outnumbered births since

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Case Update: Top Tips for Private Client Practitioners We are delighted to welcome Wedlake Bell Partner, Caroline Miller, and Katie Turney, Associate within the Private Client team to our next free webinar. Both Caroline and

Certainty Expert Webinar: Will-making in Social Isolation

Fraser and Fraser have announced a series of events. 10th February 2022 Free Webinar: An Overview of Trusts – Types and Uses of Trusts in Scotland Probate Research firm Fraser and Fraser would like to

In the last two years, the number of millennials drafting wills has increased by almost 10% with many citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason. More millennials than ever before are writing their wills in

Entitled Trust and Tax Update: what the latest developments mean for advising clients, the next webinar in Fraser and Fraser’s autumn series will feature John Bunker, consultant, solicitor and chartered tax advisor at JDB Legal.

A project that has been termed “Google maps for graves” intends to map and photograph the Church of England’s 19,000 church graveyards, with the aim of recording every grave, headstone and memorial. Surveyors with sophisticated

The latest in Fraser and Fraser’s popular series of free interactive webinars, entitled Online Probate Applications – practical tips on avoiding problems with your application, will take place on Thursday 16 September at 12.30pm. Guest

Archaeologists working on the HS2 rail link are looking for volunteers to help digitise the burial records of 57,639 Londoners who lived in the city in the 18th and 19th century. The information relates to

Using newly digitised census data, officials at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have assessed how life changed for people in England and Wales between 1961 and 2011. For example, census returns from 1961 showed

Fraudsters are targeting older and vulnerable people, hoping to marry them and pocket their lifetime savings, charities and families have warned. Research conducted by the i Newspaper has revealed more than 70 people who shared

A Scottish village, whose population was evicted in the 1800s as part of the Highland Clearances, may be lived in once again if a local community proposal is approved. The village of Rosal was emptied

A widower who tried to avoid a clause in his wife’s will stating he must not remarry after her death has had to forfeit the inheritance she left him. The provincial court in Galicia, Spain,

Charity raises more that £550,000 from “unexpected” legacy

Sight loss charity the Vision Foundation has benefitted unexpectedly from a bequest that was made almost 50 years ago. Irma Löwenstein Austin left the majority of her estate to the charity, in its former guise

CPD accredited firm Fraser and Fraser invite you to attend ‘AML Guidance for the Legal Sector 2021′ Legal Eye’s Senior Compliance and Regulatory Specialist, Norman Denton, discusses the latest Anti Money-Laundering Guidance and what it

Webinar: Adult Social Care Funding – Topics and Tensions, with ‘paying for care’ expert Cate Searle

Guest lecturer for MBL, Solicitors for the Elderly and Elderly Client Handbook contributor Cate Searle will discuss the blurring lines between community care law and more traditional private and older client law in ‘Adult Social

Free webinar with The Law Society’s Ian Bond and Taylor Fawcett’s Sarah Arundel

The Law Society’s Ian Bond, Head of Wills & Estates at Thursfields, talks key legislation changes with Taylor Fawcett’s Sarah Arundel in this free interactive webinar hosted by Fraser and Fraser. As a result of

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