What Are Deathbed Gifts And When Are They Legal?

A deathbed gift can override the usual formalities for making a will. This gift by a dying person is formally known as Donatio Mortis Causa. This year, in a fascinating case, an 84-year-old man, Stephen Keeling, was prevented from inheriting a house that he claimed was a deathbed gift from his elderly sister, Ellen Exler. […]

Beware – Schemes to Avoid Care Costs Can Be Seen as Deprivation of Assets

The average annual cost of nursing care is over £40,000. So, schemes that aim to avoid selling your home to fund care fees are big business. But be careful; if you take this route, you could be accused of deliberate deprivation. Funding Care If you or your loved one reaches the point of needing residential […]

Are You Eligible For A Nursing Care Refund?

Thousands of people across the UK need to receive long-term care due to disability, accident or illness. The NHS funds the full cost of this care to eligible people. However, many are unaware that they may have paid for care unnecessarily and may qualify for nursing care refunds. NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding (CHC) Access to […]

Are Your Affairs In Safe Hands If You Lose Mental Capacity?

We all have the right to make decisions about our own personal affairs, but sometimes due to either illnesses or accidents, we lose the ability to so. Unfortunately, if you lose mental capacity, you can’t assume that relatives can simply access your financial affairs or make decisions about your healthcare. Your loved ones may have […]

Disputes Over Burial And Cremation Following The Death Of A Loved One

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for disputes to arise as to who has the right to make decisions as to funeral arrangements and burial or cremation of loved ones when they pass away. This can create a great difficulty for third parties funeral directors, hospitals, local authorities and coroners when parties can’t agree and try […]

How Can You Protect Your Personal Injury Compensation?

Compensation in personal injury claims is intended to provide financial support to those who have had any area of their life affected by an accident that wasn’t their fault. Therefore, it is only right that successful claimants will want to protect any compensation payment in order to help with the financial burden that an accident […]

How To Make a Personal Injury Claim

Millions of people suffer from accidents every year, many of which are either not their fault, or are the result of someone else’s negligence. The injuries can range from cuts and bruises or broken bones, through to life affecting injuries and permanent disabilities that can have a serious impact on a person’s life. Compensation in […]

Daughter Written Out Of Father’s Will Makes Successful Family Provision Claim

As you may have read in one of our previous blogs, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 means that certain individuals (usually family members or dependent persons) can challenge a Will if they feel they have not been left reasonable financial provision. A recent case provides an interesting insight into how the […]

Family Provision – Inheritance Act Claims on Estates

In England & Wales we have the concept of complete freedom of testamentary disposition – we can do what we like in our Wills. If you don’t make a Will then the law of intestacy will dictate where your estate goes. Certain individuals can challenge this if they have not received reasonable financial provision and […]

New Pre-action Protocol For Debt Claims

The Pre-action Protocol for debt claims comes into force on Sunday 1 October 2017 and will potentially have a severe impact on a business if it has outstanding debts due from individuals and sole traders because of the delays that are built into this protocol. The Protocol applies to any creditor business (in limited form, […]

Three Different Ways Of Marketing & Selling Your Property

When selling your house, choosing the best way to market it is a top priority. Traditionally, the first instinct would more than likely be to get in touch with an estate agent or auctioneer, depending on the type of property and its condition. Naturally, there are advantages and disadvantages to each and there are now […]

Challenging Wills – Reasonable Provision / Maintenance

Challenging Wills Challenging wills and contentious probate is a growing area. Recently an estranged daughter successfully contested her late mother’s Will for lack of maintenance provision against three charities. I will now provide my opinion on the case and how the mother could have ensured her testamentary wishes were respected.  This article will be in […]

Joint Accounts – What if the joint holder becomes mentally incapable?

You would assume that if one account holder loses capacity that the other can carry on using the account – yes? No – in England and Wales, banks and building societies have a discretion to freeze or restrict the operation of the account to essential transactions (i.e. bills, care fees and living expenses). If the […]

Inheritance Tax & the Residence Nil Rate Band – A Simple Guide!

At present every individual in the UK has a limit of £325k before any inheritance tax is payable and married couples or civil partners can effectively double this up to £650k. These are known as a person’s “Nil Rate Band” (NRB). Since 6 April 2017, a new Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) has emerged. However, […]

Roger To Pedal His Way To Paris

Curtis Parkinson’s Roger Pitts is set to ride his bike all the way to Paris in an effort to raise money for the Armed Forces community. Organised by The Royal British Legion, Roger will be joining 150 keen cyclists as they cover 460km (284 miles) to travel from London to Paris in just four days. […]

Digital Assets – A Cloudy Issue

Until the last few years, persons assets could quite easily be identified when a client came into our office. The persons house, a couple of bank accounts a works pension etc etc. With each passing generation, the likelihood of Digital Assets will be an ever increasing consideration when dealing with that person’s estate when they pass. […]

The Family Home – Asset Protection and Long Term Care

SecondlyYou will have seen adverts for  ‘Will Trusts’, ‘Asset Protection Trusts’ & ‘Family Protection Trusts’. However, do you understand what it means? For many, their home is their most valuable asset. Naturally, you want to ensure it passes to your beneficiaries. You can achieve this through your Will upon your death or by placing the […]

WARNING – EPC – Don’t Ignore The Rules Coming in 2018

Do you remember the much maligned Home Information Packs when selling a house? Did you know that part of this was an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and pretty much whenever you sell or let a property, whether commercial or residential, you now have to have one. The purpose of the EPC is to show you […]

Lasting Power of Attorney

Managing your Future with Power of Attorney Every adult has the right to manage their own money and affairs. Sometimes, however, our ability to do this decreases as we grow older. Whether this is due to illness, disability, or an accident, there are a number of practical steps you can take. Most noteworthy steps include creating a Lasting Power of […]

Conveyancing Advice for Buying or Selling a House

If you’re planning on buying or selling a house, the Law Society has produced a handy guide. This guide covers question that you may have, such as ‘What is Conveyancing?’ or ‘What does the Solicitor do?’ Buying or Selling a Home? Buying a home is an exciting time but it can also be confusing, especially if […]

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