Wills & Inheritance Solicitors

A Question of Intestacy

Imagine this situation – a parent has written a Will leaving their estate to their 2 children in equal shares. Then after doing this, they make a gift of a substantial sum of money to the younger sibling to help them buy a house. If the parent then dies without making a similar gift to the older child, do we end up with an imbalance in the estate – would/should the older sibling expect to receive more from the estate to balance up the lifetime gift to their sibling? This is where the double portions rule is likely to be effective.

Double Portions – what are they and how might they affect my estate?

Imagine this situation – a parent has written a Will leaving their estate to their 2 children in equal shares. Then after doing this, they make a gift of a substantial sum of money to the younger sibling to help them buy a house. If the parent then dies without making a similar gift to the older child, do we end up with an imbalance in the estate – would/should the older sibling expect to receive more from the estate to balance up the lifetime gift to their sibling? This is where the double portions rule is likely to be effective.

Will you, or won’t you?

It is a number that is at an all-time high. More than 31 million people in the UK now do not have a Will, a number that has been rising over the last decade. But if you fail to make a Will and keep it updated, all your legacy will be is stress and worry for your loved ones, and at a time they are grieving and least able to cope with it.

Dying intestate – without a Will – also means that your belongings may not be dealt with in a way that you would want.

Legal changes to Funeral Planning

A recent change in the law, spotted by one of our Wills and Probate Solicitors in Today’s Wills and Probate, has outlined new compliance standards for those in the Funeral Plans sector. The move, which will see new regimes set in place by the Financial Conduct Authority, will change the way funeral planners market themselves, set out plans with customers and outlaw the use of commission.

Will Writing: The Dangers Of Free Will Templates, DIY, & Unqualified Drafters

As this area of law often sees people using legal services during an emotional time in their lives (being terminally ill or having lost a loved one for example) the importance of getting things right, and of being sensitive to the circumstances could not be higher for service providers.

New Financial Qualification for Else Solicitors

We are delighted to announce that Else Solicitors has successfully completed the Financial Supplier Qualification System (FSQS) certification process. The certificate is widely recognised as the industry benchmark used by banks and other financial institutions when selecting their suppliers.To become an accredited firm, suppliers are required to be audited against FSQS requirements in specific areas including information security management; IT security; anti-bribery measures; fraud; GDPR and environmental sustainability.

New Precedent for Wills in England and Wales

Hiring corporate solicitors is often an overlooked priority on the never-ending, sleep depriving to-do list of a small business owner.

When time and money are the driver of everything that you do, it’s usually the money making activities that take precedence over everything else. It’s easy to feel that because your business is small you can’t run into big legal problems. Sadly, that is not the case.

The Power of an Attorney

speak to a lot of people about Lasting Powers of Attorney and one response I often hear is that people think they are too young to put Powers of Attorney in place – there is a perception that Powers of Attorney are only for the very elderly, or that if you are married, your spouse will be able to deal with everything for you.