Wills and Probate | Certainty UK Will Register Blog

Published: 14 February 2009 Source: Edinburgh Evening News

‘Ensure your family are cared for when you are gone’, says Lianne Lodge a solicitor at Pagan Osborne. Reading the story this week about the mother-of-five who sadly passed away from an aneurysm two days after giving birth not only brought a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye, but it also demonstrated why having a will in place is important. There are common misconceptions surrounding the topic of wills, as many people think they don’t need one and their family will automatically know what to do in the event of their death. However, leaving a will is an extremely considerate thing to do, making a difficult time slightly easier for those left behind.

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The deadline for paying self assessment tax bills passed at midnight last night. Now experts predict the taxman’s attention may fall on the property market. Conservatives say the Government has a £100 billion ‘black hole’ in its tax account and will try to balance the books by squeezing extra revenue out of areas such as inheritance tax.

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I watched the recent ITV programme about unqualified and unregulated will writers (not a solicitor) with interest. It was most concerning, it seemed to be a very underhand practice that some of them employ. I’m glad to see that ITV has made a clear distinction between someone who would enter your home as a will writing professional who may actually try to maximise their financial gain rather than protect your interests for a fair and reasonable fee.

You may think writing a will is the best way to stop any family arguments on your death, but that may not be the case. According to one leading law firm disputes over wills and trusts have trebled over the past few years. Fay Copeland, head of contentious trusts and probate at Wedlake Bell said: “In previous years we have only been asked questions about the validity of wills. Now people are willing to pursue their claim through the courts. The two main reasons for this are that people are leaving more wealth, so it becomes financially worthwhile to contest a will.
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More than two years after he died, aged 88, the will of the chocolate heir has still not been published and Mandrake hears that all is not well between his widow, Janie, and her stepchildren. Cadbury, who was known as “The Cad”, had five children and one of them tells me: “Wills are always complicated, especially when there are three families involved. Janie is in Nassau and it’s a very different world out there.” (more…)

I feel a lot of sympathy for Christine Gill in her courtroom battle for the estate of her deceased parents, which began last week. After caring for her mother and father for many years, she could reasonably have expected better than to find they had left their estimated £2.3m estate to the RSPCA, which incidentally is just about the UK’s wealthiest charity. Understandably Christine feels aggrieved and is trying to get the will overturned. But as with any challenge to a legal will, she faces a huge battle, not least because the RSPCA will be lawyered up to the eyeballs.

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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…)