Angela Jane Latest News 

 Retired Judge Forged Will To Inherit Cottages. 

3rd December 2016 
An ex-solicitor who was also a former Judge, Margaret Hampshire, along with her husband Alan have appeared in court accused of forging a Will in the name of Martin Blanche who passed away in 2007. 
 
Martin Blanche who was thought to be a vulnerable person having difficulties reading and writing, lived alone, and it is belived by the people that knew Martin Blanche, that it was very unlikely for him to have made a Will himself. 
 
It is believed that Margaret Hampshire, transfered Martin Blanche's Estate to a cousin of Martin's whom Margaret Hampshire had Power of Attorney over, and thus proceeded to steal the cash from the cousin. 
 

How Many Wills Are Out There That Could Be Invalid? 

 
15th May 2016. 
More than half of the adult population that do have a Will in place, have never had them updated, especially when there have been major life events or changes. 
 
Quite often when I speak to people they do not realise, that if they had a Will in place while they were single or living with a partner, that unless their Will states that it is in contemplation of marriage, the moment that they marry, the Will that they had in place is revoked, and is therefore worthless. 
 
The main events that would require your Will to be reviewed, are If you get Married, you separate or get divorced, you start a family, a death of a spouse, any major changes that means that your Will is no longer going to do what you want it to do. 
 
If a Will is deemed to be ineffective, then the Estate is then distributed according to the laws of intestacy, and this may not be the wishes of the deceased individual 
 
Our lives are constantly changing, it is therefore important to make sure that you have your Will reviewed regularly especially, after any major life events. 
 
It is also worrying that only around 30% of the UK adult population have a Will in place. 
 

Probate Fees - Good News For Some Not So Good for Others 

20th February 2016. 
The Government are currently in talks on proposing to make changes to the fees for probate applications. 
According to the talks so far, the government is proposing that fees would be charged on a basis of Estate value as left by an person in their Will. 
 
Currently if a persons value of Estate is less than £5,000 it does not need to go through probate. The good news is if it comes into force is that they are going to raise the level from the current £5,000 to £50,000, which will help a lot of the less well of Estates, meaning that they will not have to pay any probate fees. 
 
However those Estates that do need to go through probate it will be a tier basis dependent upon the value of the Estate. 
 
If the Estate is worth more than £50,000 and up to £300,000 the cost will be £300 
If the Estate is worth more than £300,000 and up to £500,000 the cost will be £1,000 
If the Estate is worth more than £500,000 and up to £1 million the cost will be £4,000 
If the Estate is worth more than £1m and up to £1.6 million the cost will be £8,000 
If the Estate is worth more than £1.6m and up to £2 million the cost will be £12,000 
if the Estate is worth more than £2 million the cost will be £20,000 
 
This they are hoping will then bring extra funds into the coffers. 
 

According To Government Findings, Contested Wills Are On The Rise 

21st January 2016 
According to the Ministry of Justice people contesting Wills are continuing to rise, mainly because these days, families are very complex nowadays, with remarriages and divorces, children from previous relationships. 
 
A case Study reveals that after a Stuart Herd's father passed away, his stepmother then decided to change her Will, (albeit 11 years later). Stuart says his father wanted the Estate to be split between himself and his stepbrother (this was in both his father's and his stepmother's Will, so that when the second of them passed away both boys would benefit from their parents Estate equally. 
 
However 11 years after his father's death his stepmother removed him from her will, therefore excluding him to any of her Estate upon her death, as she felt that he was no longer any significant part of her life. 
 
What are your thoughts on this? Please let me have your comments. 
 
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