What is Probate?
January 17th, 2012Recent reports published by Google identify the search term ‘What is Probate?’ as one of the top 10 ‘what is..’ search terms entered in Google’s search engine in 2011. Why is this the case?
Wills and Probate | Certainty National Will Register Blog
Certainty Will Search finds Will 34 years after it was written
December 2nd, 2011David Thomas is a Guinness World Record-holder for memory, his memory feats include reciting Pi (3.14159) to 22,500 digits without error and Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author. He has the power to recall many key facts, so remembering simple things such as where a Will may be kept shouldn’t be a problem. But of course, he can only remember facts he has learnt. Like the rest of us, David can’t recall what he doesn’t know.
Thousands of Consumers are being ‘ripped off’ by unregulated Will-Writers
July 18th, 2011The Legal Ombudsman have published their first report, listing will-writing by unregulated will-writers as one of the most common complaints they receive. Unfortunately, as the Legal Ombudsman can only act on complaints made against regulated solicitors, these complaints cannot be followed up.
Protect yourself by using a solicitor practising in Wills and Probate, who as they are regulated there is the help available if things go wrong.
Remember a Charity in Your Will
June 14th, 2011Charities in the UK heavily rely on legacies left in Wills. It is a fact that while 74% of the UK population support charities, only 7% currently leave a legacy to them. Remember a Charity work with charities to encourage more people to consider leaving a gift to charities in their Will, after their loved ones have been looked after.
Social worker pretended dead mother ‘was in the garden’ for a YEAR so he could inherit her estate
February 11th, 2011A social worker who hid his mother’s death from her family as he tried to change her will has been branded a ‘disgrace’.
Kenneth Mould concealed his mother Evelyn’s death for over a year and deceived family members by telling them she was ‘in the garden’ when they called for her.
His lies were uncovered when Evelyn’s brother William Wandless became so concerned he called social services to check.
Mr Wandless, 71, of Whickham, Gateshead, spoke out after the pensioner’s son was struck off from ever doing social work again.
After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2004, Evelyn’s health deteriorated before she left her home of four decades in North Shields, North Tyneside, to live with her son, Kenneth, in Surrey.
Prior to her death, relatives said that she had become extremely forgetful, losing her keys and leaving food to burn on the hob, and often insisted her dead husband was alive and upstairs.
Mould took advantage of the 86-year-old’s severe mental impairment and forced her to replace her will with a new document which made him the sole beneficiary.
She died in February 2007, but in the 12 months that followed, Mould did not tell the family of his mother’s death, writing emails and taking calls in which he claimed she was alive and well.
Last night, Mr Wandless spoke of the moment he discovered his sister was dead and the heartache of not having the opportunity to attend her funeral.
The 71-year-old, of Whickham, Gateshead, said: ‘I will never forgive him. It is a disgrace and I want everyone to know what he did. I have never been to her funeral and I do not even know where my sister is buried.
‘She was a lovely woman and it’s awful that he took advantage of her when she needed him the most. I never want to speak to him again. We have never had the chance to have a funeral and that makes me so angry.’
Mould convinced his neighbours to sign as witnesses after he changed his mother’s will to ensure he inherited her house and estate. But in statements read out during the hearing, they said she ‘quite obviously’ did not realise she was signing a will.
Mould, of Surbiton, Surrey, had been desperately trying to get hold of her assets, the hearing was told. When he realised the will would not withstand scrutiny, he declared her intestate, meaning that she died without executing a valid will.
Mr Wandless, whose wife Muriel died last year after battling cancer, said: ‘Two police officers arrived from Surrey and told me. I was shocked and devastated when I found out. I had contacted social services because I wanted them to go and visit her and make sure she was OK.
Change of plan: Mould tried to get hold of his mother’s assets but when he realised the will would not withstand scrutiny, he declared her intestate
‘It’s hard because the Crown Prosecution Service and police decided there was not enough evidence to charge or prosecute him. It’s very difficult and it’s made worse because my wife never got to see justice done.’
Last December, Mould accepted voluntary redundancy from Merton Borough Council’s social services department, where he had worked with the elderly, after they learned of his deceit.
The striking off order imposed on Monday is permanent and makes it illegal for Mould to be employed as a social worker anywhere in the UK.
Mr Wandless said: ‘No one knew about her death. We rang every fortnight to speak to her and that continued until after Christmas 2006 and then that became difficult, I couldn’t speak to her.
‘After a while, my wife spoke to Kenneth in emails and in these he used to say: “Yeah, she’s all right” and “She’s in the garden”. He told us she was still healthy and still alive.
‘We used to ring the house, but could never get any answer and in October or November I rang him at work and I told him I was going to go down to London to see my sister.
‘Kenneth told me she wasn’t at home and she was in Somerset. I said: “That’s fine, I’ll go to London and then to Somerset, I want to see her”.
‘He put the phone down. After Christmas I wrote to social services in Surrey asking them to visit my sister because I was worried about her.
‘Shortly after that, a policeman came to the door and he said: “I’ve got bad news, your sister’s dead.” I said: “What, she’s just died,” and he said: “No, a year ago.”‘
Bitter legacy: A writer discovers she was disinherited
January 7th, 2011Grieving for a loved one is traumatic enough, but how are you supposed to feel if you discover that your dearly departed has cut you off without a penny? Louisa Turner – whose world was turned upside down on reading her late father’s will – looks at the plight of the disinherited.
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Where there’s a Will
December 14th, 2010Your recent article, Rise in number of intestacy disputes, highlighted two interesting issues: hard times encourage people to contest inheritances; and intestacies offer more opportunities for such disputes to take place. My summary of this state of affairs is that necessity and greed are powerful motivators of human behaviour, and death brings out the best and worst in us.
Even if the numbers in the Wedlake Bell research are not huge, the trend is worrying. And it is easy to imagine that, in straitened times, the rapid and relatively steep rise in inheritance disputes will only get steeper.
Wife and mistress both used ‘forged wills’ in attempt to claim estate agent’s fortune
November 15th, 2010The ex-wife and the girlfriend of a millionaire estate agent both forged a will in a dispute over his fortune, a court heard yesterday.
Chris John died suddenly at the age of 47, leaving a property portfolio and sports cars – but no will. His girlfriend Gillian Clemo used a forged will to try to ensure she could stay in the luxury home the couple had shared, the jury was told. His former wife Helen John, 48, who had split from her husband ‘acrimoniously’ after his affair with Clemo, then altered that will after discovering that their divorce had never been officially finalised, it was said.
Nearly two-thirds of Britons have not made a will
October 23rd, 2010Nearly two-thirds of Britons do not have a will despite the majority of people having a clear idea of who they want to receive their money when they die, a survey suggested today.
Around 62% of people admitted they did not have a will, rising to 70% among people who had children aged under 18, according to professional advice website Unbiased.co.uk. The group warned that this could leave many children vulnerable, as under current laws, children who are not named in a will are only entitled to an inheritance if there is no surviving spouse or an estate is worth more than £250,000.
Remember A Charity
September 7th, 2010Gifts in wills form the foundation of charities in the UK. Many depend on these legacies, and without them they simply wouldn’t exist. For example, six out of ten lifeboat launches by the RNLI are only made possible by gifts in wills. And it’s not just the larger charities that benefit from legacies, as over 75% of the costs of caring for the animals at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home are also met by gifts in wills.
Remember A Charity is the biggest single-issue campaign in the voluntary sector, made up of more than 140 member charities. Set up in 2000, the consortium aims to encourage more people to consider leaving a gift to charities in their will, once they’ve looked after their family and friends.
By taking a family first, charity second approach, and by making legacy giving relevant for ordinary people, the campaign has taken great steps forward to change public opinion whilst growing the market. Recent research has proven that an increasing number of people are leaving legacies, as a reported 35% of the UK are now happy to consider leaving a small amount to charity in their will.
The UK legacy market is currently worth more than 25 times the amount raised by Comic Relief every year, but just a 4% change in behaviour would raise a further £1 billion for good causes every year. Our research has shown that there is real potential to grow this market and make legacy giving a social norm, not an exception.
Last year saw the introduction of our very first Remember A Charity Week, designed to raise awareness of legacies. Fronted by Margaret Mountford of The Apprentice, the campaign reached over 21 million people nationwide.
This year, our annual awareness week aims to reach an even wider audience than ever before. Taking place from 13-19 September, it has been billed by organisers as potentially one of the biggest UK cross-charity campaigns.
During the week our member charities will be running their own PR activities, using a selection of branded materials including teabags and ribbon to help promote the campaign. The materials will encourage people to take a moment to think about their favourite charity and what a legacy could do for them. Arthritis Research UK will be branding all their charity shops nationwide, The Children’s Society will be giving away free teabags with purchases in their shops and Guide Dogs will tie yellow ribbon to their dogs’ collars.
This year’s Remember A Charity Week will also include a “Legacies through a Lens” photography exhibition at the Oxo Tower in London. The exhibition will showcase photographs taken by various celebrities including Gordon Ramsay, Dame Judi Dench, Timothy Spall and Alexandra Burke, capturing the work of legacies and the difference they can make to a charity and its beneficiaries.
As a campaign we’ve challenged ourselves with the task of generating mass behaviour change to make leaving gifts in wills a social norm. Our research has shown that at present just 18% of wills written each year include a charitable bequest, despite over 70% of adults in the UK regularly giving money to charity during their lifetime. In order to increase this figure and bring about a change in attitudes towards charitable giving in wills, we need your help. By asking the right questions at the right time you can make sure that your clients take care of everything that is important to them – family, friends and charities. This way we can all make a difference to the world we leave behind.
Our research has also shown that at present 14% of professional advisers never mention charitable bequests unless prompted by their client, and only 31% always mention charities. To make leaving gifts in wills the social norm, we need professional advisers like you to raise the idea of legacies with their clients, after they have taken care of their family and friends. By doing this we can help grow the legacy market and really make a difference.
For further information about Remember A Charity or for details on including a charity in your will, please visit www.rememberacharity.org.uk or contact us on 020 7840 1030.
Gifts in wills form the foundation of charities in the UK. Many depend on these legacies, and without them they simply wouldn’t exist. For example, six out of ten lifeboat launches by the RNLI are only made possible by gifts in wills. And it’s not just the larger charities that benefit from legacies, as over 75% of the costs of caring for the animals at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home are also met by gifts in wills.
Remember A Charity is the biggest single-issue campaign in the voluntary sector, made up of more than 140 member charities. Set up in 2000, the consortium aims to encourage more people to consider leaving a gift to charities in their will, once they’ve looked after their family and friends.
