One of the main roles of a personal representative’s role is to identify all the assets and liabilities in the estate.  

New research by abrdn reveals four in five (78%) retirees admit they have not sought any professional financial advice on their retirement plans.

It has been confirmed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) that the fee for probate applications is changing and all users of the probate service will pay a higher fee.

It has been reported that more millennials than ever before are writing their wills in case they die unexpectedly.

The Ministry of Justice introduced legislation to allow for wills to be witnessed via video-link up and this has now been continued to allow vulnerable people to use this method of executing their wills until 31 January 2024.

The latest family court statistics for England and Wales show 58,642 grants of were issued between July and September 2021, with a record number of 82% being made through the new digital application system, compared to only 46% in the same quarter in 2020.

There are strict rules in place for witnessing Wills.  One of these rules is that if the spouse or civil partner of a beneficiary witnesses the Will then the gift to the beneficiary in the Will is void.

HMRC have identified potential errors regarding the declaration of residential property disposals for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes when completing self-assessment tax returns for 2019/20.

Nobody likes to think about a time when they are no longer around so talking to loved ones about what you would like to happen after you pass away may seem morbid or unnecessary. However, talking about financial and practical matters can help put your mind at ease and make things much easier for those closest to you when the inevitable comes.

How do you go about administering an estate where the death was several years ago and nothing has been done since?

The increase in the number of families, comprising of different families that have been linked by new relationships, can complicate the process of inheritance, the creation and administration of Wills, and the distribution of estates.

The judicial decision that the will of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh be kept private for the next 90 years highlights that a will generally becomes a public document once probate has been granted, open to be read by anyone with an interest in the estate, highlighting the importance of discussing intentions to avoid later challenges to the estate and to exclude any confidential information.