Wills and Probate | Certainty UK Will Register Blog

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Certainty’s Manchester launch takes place at the Probate Section Annual Conference and AGM 2008 at the Lowry Hotel on 3rd July.

Developed over a two-year period, Certainty.co.uk has invested in excess of £1 million to provide a ‘national will register’ allowing members to easily register or search for a will. Extensive research has ensured that the register complies with legal requirements and is exclusively for the use of solicitors, STEP members and the general public.

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A LEEDS man and his cousins have begun a legal appeal for their share of a relative’s £10m fortune.
Mervyn Lebor, of Stainburn Avenue, Moor Allerton, wants the will of his aunt, Golda Bechal, in which she left her entire estate to Chinese takeaway owners, to be declared invalid. Yesterday, London’s Court of Appeal heard that an earlier ruling that the widow knew what she was doing was “plainly wrong”.In November last year, Judge Sir Donald Rattee paved the way for Kim Sing Man and his wife Bee Lian Man, from Essex, to inherit the fortune of 88-year-old Mrs Bechal, with whom they had been friends since the 1960s.

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Thousands of elderly people are being forced to sell their homes to pay for expensive care fees - putting themselves at risk of ending up with outdated wills, according to the Law Society.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently announced a £6bn shortfall in funding for care, which means that many people will be left to pay for it themselves. Long-term care costs an average of £450 a week.

The Law Society is urging anyone considering selling their house to cover care costs to reassess their will. Andrew Holroyd, president of the Law Society says: ‘It is worth asking your solicitor to look again at your will and amend it to include a ‘plan B’ in case your home has been sold and cannot be passed on. At least in that way, if you are forced to sell up, the intended recipients of your estate receive something else.’

This is an article taken from the Observer dated 25/3/08

Thousands of wills could need updating as rising care and nursing fees force the elderly to sell their assets to pay for care, the Law Society is warning.

It has become a growing trend among those requiring care to sell their home to pay for expensive fees, but the society points out a person’s home is usually the largest asset they leave in their will.

Andrew Holroyd, Law Society president and senior partner at Liverpool firm Jackson and Canter, said: “Many people get their solicitor to include their home in their will, but with more people selling up to release capital for care fees, many wills will be outdated. There will not be a home to leave to loved ones.

“Wills should be reviewed regularly. Someone who might have intended to leave their home to a family member, friend or charity in their will 10 or 20 years ago may not want or be able to do so now.”

This is an article taken from the Liverpool Daily Post June 10th 2008

A leading law firm says business owners are risking substantial problems for their business partners and family by failing to make a will.

Mace & Jones made its warning, after finding that a large number of male business owners in their 30s and 40s have not made wills. This anecdotal experience is reinforced by research from Lawpack which has revealed that almost two thirds of Britons have not made arrangements for their will. (more…)

CHANCES are you haven’t even thought of writing a will yet.
The very thought of it can often seem macabre, while some people think it’s only the rich that need to bother. If so then you’re not alone, as two-thirds of the UK population has no written will at all.

Most of us still seem to think that writing a will is something to shelve until you’re older, as the study showed that people over the age of 55 are most likely to have a will. In contrast, younger adults are dramatically failing to prepare for the future, as the findings show that 97 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds have not prepared a will.

The report from Barclays Wealth, the asset management division of Barclays Bank, shows that 63 per cent of us have yet to write a wil. Further, more Britons are failing to act on factors that make us more liable to inheritance tax, such as rising house prices, and reviewing their wills accordingly.

You might think those with children would be well advised to make some kind of provision, but the study shows that, worryingly, 64 per cent of us with children have yet to even write a will. This means any assets left to their children will be liable to a six per cent charge.

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As part of Certainty’s nationwide radio campaign to increase public awareness and promote local Certainty members, Chairman Kevin Martin was invited as a guest onto BBC WM radio to discuss the Certainty Will Register with presenter Ed Doolan and Geoffrey Morris from McFaddens. (more…)

G.D. writes: My partner’s brother died on his way to New Zealand to visit another brother.  Their younger sister claims there is a will saying she is to inherit the house and contents.  She says she has a document naming her as his next of kin.  No will has been produced and we know it is not at the bank or with a solicitor. To sum up, the brother who died has left two surviving brothers and a sister.  Can she inherit the estate without a will? (more…)

During their 15 years together, elderly businessman Jimmy Swanston always assured his younger lover that she would be looked after when he had gone. So when the multi-millionaire died leaving her nothing, Pat Powell immediately suspected she had been cheated out of her inheritance. Those suspicions unfolded in a courtroom as the businessman’s son denied forging his father’s will and depriving Miss Powell of any money from the estate. (more…)