Dementia Action Week (17 – 23 May), hosted by Alzheimer’s Society, is urging Government to fix the broken care system and provide support and care needed and deserved by people with dementia and their family. There are nearly one million people with dementia in the UK and the pandemic has exposed decades of underfunding and neglect like […]
Read moreHMRC have recently announced that as of May 2021 their Statement of personal assets, Certificate of financial accounts and Certificate of financial cards forms will be amended to include virtual assets.
Read moreThere are certain people who have a statutory duty to deal with your body on your death, in particular the hospital where you die. The Coroner too can order that a body is retained until investigations are complete. However, the primary duty to dispose of a body is down to the personal representative or the executors.
Read moreThis is an increasingly common concern, particularly when parents have re-married and perhaps had children with their new spouses. However, it is not always the case that parents have ‘cut out’ their children, often they have failed to update their wills to take into account changes in circumstances, written a will that is not formally valid (a ‘home-made’ will) or not written a will at all.
Read moreIn my previous article ‘COVID-19: Ways of witnessing wills in lockdown’ I explained the new ways of witnessing wills that we, at Spratt Endicott, had adopted as we worked around COVID-19 restrictions. There has now been a new development which means that wills can be witnessed via video link, providing the video and sound is […]
Read moreIn 2019, £6.5 billion was spent by parents helping their children onto the property ladder. The Bank of Mum and Dad is now this country’s sixth largest lender. No lender of this size would proceed without careful financial and legal advice, and we can help. Although it is not new for parents to support children […]
Read moreWell what a couple of weeks it has been! Here at Spratt Endicott the majority of our team have settled in to working from home and business is continuing as usual. For the handful of us skeleton staff still attending the office, to ensure the smooth running of the business, it has been interesting to […]
Read moreIn the time of COVID-19 and social distancing, individuals and businesses have been forced to change the way that they carry out simple tasks in a way that would have seemed unbelievable only two weeks ago. This period of uncertainty amid an unprecedented public health crisis has also inevitably led to an increase in people […]
Read moreThe impact of coronavirus on the economic landscape in the country and across the world has been unprecedented. As businesses and individuals prepare for extended periods of self-isolation and social distancing, many are now beginning to consider how this constantly evolving situation will impact on their lives in both the short and long term. Our […]
Read moreOn 24th January 2020 HMRC published its technical consultation on the changes to Trust registration. These changes are part of the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5MLD) which builds on the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which came into effect June 2017. The 5MLD aims to further combat financial crime by boosting existing transparency rules and to prevent money […]
Read moreOur very own Paula Tedder was a guest speaker on Radio Oxford over the weekend (24/11/19), discussing the topic of lasting power of attorney (LPA). Below, we have outlined Paula’s 5 key information points everyone should know when it comes to LPAs. Get in touch Here at Spratt Endicott, our solicitors are dedicated to providing […]
Read moreYour property may qualify for the conditional exemption from inheritance tax (IHT) if it is considered to be heritage property. This could be very useful for your family as it means that such property, which is not restricted to just land, can pass down the generations with no IHT being payable at the time. There […]
Read moreFamily and friends often make loans to each other to provide financial assistance when they need it. If the lender dies prior to the repayment of the debt and the paper trail is not transparent this can create a difficult situation. Our recommendation in this situation is always to seek the advice of an expert […]
Read moreIt has recently been reported that two stepsisters have had to rely on a 1925 law to determine the distribution of their parents’ Estate (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/13/woman-beats-stepsister-300000-high-court-inheritance-battle/). In this very sad case John Scarle, aged 79 and Marjorie Scarle, aged 69 both passed away in their home in October 2016, but the order of their deaths is […]
Read moreIt has been reported that the Government carried out almost 50% more investigations into abuse complaints regarding Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) in 2018. The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) had to investigate 5245 claims that attorneys had abused their position in managing the donor’s finances. An example of this was a case recently […]
Read moreThe BBC have reported (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48555199) that it is claimed that ‘thousands of vulnerable patients in England are missing out on NHS funding for care that they are legally entitled to’. It goes on to state that many are dying before getting the funding for care or are forced to sell their homes to pay for […]
Read moreWhat is a Grant of Probate? A grant of probate is an official document that gives a named executor the authority to deal with the property of a deceased person. The term is often used (and will be in this Note) to include a grant of representation which is the equivalent document needed by an […]
Read moreJoyce and Sybil Burton, sisters in their late 80’s, hit the headlines in 2006 having lost a case against the Government. They had lived together all their lives but realised that on the first death there would be a substantial amount of Inheritance Tax on their home and thought that this was unfair. Married couples […]
Read moreAdvance decisions are otherwise known as “Living Wills” because they should be in writing, signed by you, and your signature must be witnessed. Verbal advance decisions can be given, but are not ideal and obviously need to be recorded very carefully by the health care professional concerned. That person will also need to consider whether […]
Read moreI expect that you’re quite busy finishing off your Autumn statement. Could I beg a favour, and ask you to look at your predecessor’s proposals to introduce a main residence nil rate band for Inheritance Tax purposes. In a nutshell, it is over complicated, discriminatory, and potentially problematic in certain circumstances. It seems that if […]
Read moreWhen you have to face the sadness of a death in the family, you then have to address all the paperwork and arrangements that must follow. This is not easy, especially at a time when you may not be feeling up to it. We hope that (whether or not you then decide to use our […]
Read moreIn a recent case a beneficiary has received an £87,000 penalty from HM Revenue & Customs for failing to tell his father’s executors about a cash gift he received the year before his father’s death. It is the responsibility of executors to make enquiries of the deceased’s family of any lifetime gifts made in the […]
Read moreThe Ministry of Justice is proposing radical changes to the Probate application fee as follows : £300 for estates worth more than £50,000 and up to £300,000 £1,000 for estates worth more than £300,000 and up to £500,000 £4,000 for estates worth more than £500,000 and up to £1 million £8,000 for estates worth more […]
Read moreThe recent death of actor Roger Lloyd-Pack was very sad, particularly for those of us who remember him so fondly as Trigger. Who can forget the wonderful scene where he gets an award for having the same broom for 20 years (with only 17 new heads and 14 new handles during that time). So, Trigger […]
Read moreThe recent death of actor Roger Lloyd-Pack was very sad, particularly for those of us who remember him so fondly as Trigger. Who can forget the wonderful scene where he gets an award for having the same broom for 20 years (with only 17 new heads and 14 new handles during that time). So, Trigger […]
Read moreIf you have a property in Europe, have you ever considered what happens to it on your death? The position is complex, and each country has its own rules with regard to succession on death, and also which country’s law applies if immoveable assets are owned abroad or by a deceased non-national. Many EU countries […]
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