April 2020 – Making a Will in Lockdown
Traditional will-making The traditional notion of making a will usually involves: a meeting at a solicitor’s office to discuss the terms of the will and give instructions; the solicitor then sending out a draft of the will for review; and … More
Are you Divorced and Now in a New Relationship ?
Recent research has been carried out by Direct Life Line Insurance which revealed that 60% of divorced adults in the UK, who are now in a new relationship, have failed to update any of their personal finances since their previous … More
Loan, Advance, Gift ?
A recent Scottish court decision issued just after Christmas last year has shown that tensions can arise after a death where there is no documentation in place to illuminate the nature of a lifetime payment made by the deceased. Is … More
December 2019 – When Executors Go Rogue
The recent case of Baynton-Williams v Baynton-Williams ([2019] EWHC 2179 (Ch)) in England flags up the importance of taking care not to inadvertently mislead the court in preparing a witness statement and the importance of expert witnesses complying with their … More
Storing Your Will Where Others Can Find It
We are always advising our clients of the necessity of making a Will and having a Power of Attorney but recent information published by the Financial Times has highlighted that it is also very important that your family knows where … More
Can Someone With Dementia Make a Will?
It was World Alzheimer’s Day on the 21 September 2019 offering an opportunity for organisations and individuals to raise awareness of the disease and to do all that we can to support those living with the illness. The generic term … More
August 2019 – Grim – but not a fairy tale – Wills and children from previous relationships
Stating the obvious At the risk of stating the obvious, in order to inherit from someone you need to survive them. You don’t need to survive them for long: the merest instant will be enough (unless the will makes survival … More
Rachel Thompson has won her case against Apple
Rachel Thompson’s husband Matt died in July 2015. Rachel, a property adviser, from Chiswick met Matt when she was 19 and he was 18. They married ten years later and had a daughter Matilda who is now ten. Matt died … More
Being an Attorney
We often hear of the importance of having a Power of Attorney in place but not so much about the duties involved in being someone’s Attorney. It may be flattering to think someone trusts you enough to ask you to … More
Cremation or Burial? Who Decides?
On the 4 April 2019 section 65 of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force and with it a new framework for dictating who decides what is to happen to you after you die. At the moment … More