Why acting as an executor can be dangerousOften lay Executors underestimate the amount of work that is required and the timescales involved in dealing with their responsibilities for administering the estate, which can be particularly onerous when they are also coping with the grief of losing a loved one.Lay Executors need not employ the help of a professional, particularly for routine non-taxable estates, and they can do a lot of the initial information gathering themselves, which can help them minimise costs. They may then seek professional assistance in obtaining the Grant of Probate so that the professional can deal with…

This week, the SRA has announced as part of its “Looking to the Future” programme that it will widen the areas of law where firms will have to publish their prices, as well as what those fees cover, online. The areas affected are probate, motoring offences, immigration, debt recovery of amounts up to £100,000, and employment tribunals. Firms will have just 6 months to comply with the new requirement.  The SRA stated, “Our ‘Better Information, more Choice’ reforms are designed to improve public access to legal services by making information on price, protections and services more easily available.”The Council for…

The myth of common-law marriage is one that persists year after year.There are now more than 17.5% of families in the UK where the parents are not married but cohabitating, and with cohabitation rising from 1.5 million couples in 1996 to 3.3 million couples in 2016 (according to figures from the Office of National Statistics), there has never been a greater need to dispel the common-law marriage myth than there is now.Despite the long-running myth, many cohabitating couples do believe that, if they live together for a certain number of years, they will be afforded the same legal protection as…

With the house-selling season well underway, here are our top ten tips for making your home as attractive as possible to potential buyers. 1 – Know your local area: Potential buyers will want to know about the local area if it’s not one they are already familiar with.  Even when you’ve lived in an area for a long time, it’s possible to overlook things you don’t use or perhaps take for granted. Make sure you are informed about the local schools, transport links, libraries, any planning applications that may affect the immediate area, local services (such as doorstep deliveries), shops,…

With the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markel only hours away, wedding fever is high. Planning the big day is a huge focus for many brides and grooms, with cakes, venues, vows, rings, flowers, attendants, and, of course, the dress all being carefully considered and discussed. Love, romance and dreams are very much at the forefront of the minds of the couple, their family and friends. However, what about more practical issues, such as protecting their personal assets? There are many reasons why couples should have a serious discussion about their individual assets and how they should be…

More than £5.2 billion in inheritance tax (IHT) was paid in the last tax year – the highest figures ever recorded. Official statistics from HMRC’s latest monthly estimate have revealed the unprecedented amount is an increase of £400 million on the previous tax year.But it appears that not all those entitled to claim the new IHT allowances have been taking advantage of these, leaving them with a higher than necessary IHT bill – in some instances, families could be paying as much as £40,00 extra. According to a Freedom of Information request from NFU Mutual, HMRC figures show that only…

Sir James Munby, the outgoing President of the Family Division, has had a number of divorce cases brought to his attention. It appears that a number of Decree Nisis and Absolutes have been incorrectly granted, as they did not meet the required time limits. There are strict timeframes for when a petitioner can submit a divorce petition; couples must have been married for an entire year before being able to submit a petition. It appears that, in some cases, a full year had not passed before the petitions were sent to the divorce centres. In other cases, divorces were processed…

There have been renewed calls by family lawyers, Resolution and Baroness Hale for the introduction of no-fault divorce. These calls come as we near the much-anticipated Supreme Court hearing of Owens V Owens on 17th May 2018. Baroness Hale recently created history by becoming the first female President of the Supreme Court. At the annual Resolution conference in Bristol, she said, “It may seem paradoxical to suggest that no-fault divorce is aimed at strengthening responsibility, but I believe that it is. The contents of the [divorce] petition can trigger or exacerbate family conflict entirely unnecessarily. Respondents are encouraged by their…

Many people will only write one Will in their entire lifetime. They may write it several decades before their passing, but still find, as they reach their final years, that it continues to reflect their wishes.However, the reality for most of us is that the circumstances and details of our lives, as well as those of the people around us, change over time: we get married, get divorced, get remarried, friends and family become estranged, financial situations change, health alters our constitution and outlook, and our visions for our legacies evolve.This is why it is so important to ensure we…

Divorce solicitors are increasingly dealing with cases involving arguments over the division of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.If difficulties in tracing and recording such assets were not already enough, these divorce cases are further complicated by the wild volatility of such currencies, making it very difficult to value them correctly in time for final divorce settlements.In fact, it has been reported that in the UK there have been numerous challenges in this area in recent months. For example, law firm Royds Withy King has spoken of a spate of divorce disputes involving Bitcoin, with one recent case worth £600,000 – however,…