Probate delays continue

Posted on 11th February 2022

Letter tiles spelling 'allow for delay' sum up the current position with probate applications

Despite reassurances last year, probate delays are continuing in 2022. The promised improvements are failing to speed up the service for bereaved families.

More Millennials are writing wills

Posted on 21st January 2022

A new study has found that more millennials have written Wills during the pandemic.

More than a quarter of 18 to 34 year olds had a Will in 2021, compared to 18% in 2019.

More Millennials are writing Wills following the pandemic

Changes to probate fees and inheritance tax in 2022

Posted on 7th January 2022

This month there will be changes to probate fees and the rules concerning inheritance tax.

Gifts to your family can bring unexpected inheritance tax bills

Posted on 21st December 2021

In a recent poll nearly half of respondents didn’t know anything about the rules concerning inheritance tax (IHT).

People giving gifts to their children and grandchildren could find they are liable to inheritance tax

What will the Health and Social Care Bill mean for older people?

Posted on 7th December 2021

Living costs aren't included in the government's cap on how much people will need to pay on their care costs

The Health and Care Bill was passed in the House of Commons on 22 November. It was then reviewed in detail by the House of Lords but several stages must still be completed before it receives Royal Assent, which is expected to be in April 2022.

Getting to know Angela

Posted on 30th November 2021

One of the first people I had a 121 with when I first joined BNI Sterling was Angela Stokes from Angela Jane Will Writing. A lovely human being with fascinating pastimes ...

Have you included your digital assets in your Will?

Posted on 24th November 2021

It’s a new question for our technological age – what happens to your digital assets when you die?

People often underestimate what’s in their estate when they start to think about their Will. It’s easy to forget about things that are stored in the cloud or on a laptop or smartphone, social media accounts, online bank accounts and cryptocurrencies.

Coding for a website is a digital asset that you could include in your Will.

Why property ownership matters for your Will

Posted on 12th November 2021

The ownership of your home can affect who can inherit it when you die.

In a recent High Court case a widow was awarded £80,000 from her brother-in-law’s inheritance following a dispute over property ownership. Here’s what happened.

Her husband has made a Will leaving his estate in full to her. However, after his death, there was a dispute concerning the family home that she had shared with him. The property was registered to her husband and his brother. It had been owned by their mother until she died in 2009, but it wasn’t clear whether the brothers held the property as joint tenants or as tenants-in-common.

Are online Wills worth the paper they aren’t written on?

Posted on 22nd October 2021

While most people in the UK believe their affairs are simple, their requirements are often quite complicated when it comes to their Will.

According to recently published research online Will writing services often fail to consider things that can significantly affect the details of your Will such as marital status, children, assets, business and property ownership, overseas property investments and disinheritance.

creating your Will on your laptop is easy but it might not be valid.

How many of your assets are digital?

Posted on 8th October 2021

Even photo stored on your phone or in the cloud are digital assets

Social media and email accounts, cryptocurrencies, and photographs stored in the cloud are all digital assets.

Although they are an important part of our lives, we probably haven’t given much thought to what will happen to them if we die or are unable to make decisions about them.

Joint research by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Microsoft-funded Cloud Legal Project at Queen Mary University of London has looked at the practical issues surrounding digital assets for estate planning.