The Court of Protection has approved the right of a man with dementia to marry his long-term partner, against the wishes of the daughters of his first marriage. The father of three adult daughters divorced from their mother many years ago. Now in his mid-eighties, he...
The prospect of paying for care homes can seem a daunting one, especially when it appears that so many factors go into assessing out how much exactly you will be paying. The cost of care will depend on where in the UK you live, and also...
Both Probate and Estate Administration are associated with handling an individual’s estate after they’ve died, but they are defined differently and often misunderstood. ‘Probate’ is a widely used term but there’s a lot of confusion about what it means and what is included in the...
An article in The Times from November 2017 warns against appointing a solicitor as an Executor in your Will. The article reported that a couple were faced with an exorbitant legal bill of £115,000 which was “removed” from a modest £300,000 estate. The deceased, had appointed...
A government scheme has been launched to enable people to claim back the excessive fees they paid the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for Lasting Power of Attorney applications. The OPG was told to offer the partial refunds because it significantly reduced its processing...
Following the death of a loved one closing down someone’s Social Media is never going to be top of the agenda, but in the social age it will need to become a consideration. With over 30 million UK users on Facebook alone there are a...
Who are you going to leave money to in your Will? Your spouse or partner is probably first in line, any children or extended members of the family may pop up here and there too. But what about a charity? Thousands of people every year choose...
You’ve spent years building up your business, but have you given any thought to what will happen when you want to slow down a bit or when you die? Succession planning is about having an exit plan. If you have one of these in place you...
Building up a sizeable estate is a lifetime’s work - the result of a lot of hard graft. As a result, it is understandable that you would want to pass on as much of that estate to your loved ones as possible. Trusts are an...
It is extremely important that any named beneficiary in a Will can be easily identified. After your death, your Executors must be able to say with certainty that an individual either is, or is not, a beneficiary under your Will. There are many things that you...