September 7th, 2010
Executors of estates are being reminded that, even if they haven’t inherited a property, they are still liable to pay council tax on it.
The warning comes after This is Local London reported that a son, whose father died in February this year, has been threatened with court action over the tax bill for his dad’s house even though he doesn’t own it yet.
“I explained I didn’t own the house and my father’s estate was going through probate, but they were not interested,” explained David Clarke. He is now responsible for the £1,000 council tax bill for his father’s unoccupied property.
Mr Clarke told This is Local London: “They didn’t even send a covering letter, which I thought was disgusting. Apparently they were trying to save money.”
“I’m not trying to avoid the payment,” he added. “I just can’t understand the rush. Probate can take up to eight weeks.”
He received a court summons which threatened civil action, but was later dropped after a meeting with council officers in which he reluctantly agreed to a payment plan.
The council said they are simply following their guidelines which considers whether a property is entitled to a council tax exemption. A spokesman explained that the exemption “will not apply if another person can be seen to be the liable party from the date of death.”
Mr Clarke concluded: “For years, my father paid his council tax without ever seeking discounts or benefits.”
Tags: Probate
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September 6th, 2010
The call for new measures to introduce regulation to the will writing industry has been echoed by yet more legal firms, reports The Financial Times Adviser.
According to the paper, probate solicitors from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) have found that nearly two thirds of the society’s members have encountered incompetence or dishonesty in the will writing market. Even where will writing is done in good faith, even a simple error can result in someone dying intestate despite having drafted a will prior to their death – making it that much harder to get probate of estate and turn assets over to beneficiaries.
Lewis Hymanson Small, a law firm based in Manchester, says that without regulation there is little pressure to make sure that wills are correctly drawn up to the high standards demanded by wills and probate law upon an individuals death.
“I handle many family disputes that have arisen as a result of poorly written wills put together by unprofessional businesses,” Howard Burns, a senior wills and probate solicitor told the FT Adviser. “It would save a lot of time, money and upset if there was regulation in the industry to ensure only professionals can write a will.”
The STEP survey of 693 members also revealed that two thirds of practitioners had found customers stung by will writing services that charged hidden fees excluded from the original stated price. Slightly less (63%) said they had encountered problems with finding client wills due to the will writing company going out of business and failing to hand the documents on to another secure holder.
Tags: dying intestate, probate of estate, probate solicitors, wills and probate law, wills and probate solicitors
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September 2nd, 2010
The director of the Legal Services Policy Institute (LSPI) has warned the Legal Services Board (LSB) that it could be “unwise” to make will writing a protected service reserved for wills and probate solicitors, at least at this time.
Professor Stephen Mayson has said that his research into reserved legal activities – those that are held exclusive to the legal profession and cannot be commercially offered without the proper qualifications – has found that their origins are “remarkably obscure.” Professor Mayson says that he has found “little basis for suggesting a common policy rational that justifies their existence”, suggesting that the existing model for reserved legal activities is unsuitable as a basis for further regulation of legal services.
Currently, six legal activities are reserved for specialist lawyers. These are the rights of audience, the conduct of litigation, conveyancing, notarial work, the administration of oaths and certain probate services, such as applying for a grant of probate for a client.
Speaking in Legal Futures, Professor Mayson points out that there currently is a “regulatory gap” in reserved or regulated legal activities in many cases though. For example, some services are regulated by statute, whilst others are neither reserved or regulated but become so when the person who carries them out is – for example, when will writing is conducted by a probate solicitor.
This example is at the heart of the debate over extending the list of reserved activities to will writing, which the LSB has announced it will fast track a decision on ahead of its overall review of reserved activities. According to Professor Mayson, it would be “unwise to consider any particular legal activity for inclusion or exclusion in the absence of a broader set of criteria that could be generally applied.”
Tags: Probate, probate service, probate solicitors, wills and probate solicitors
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August 31st, 2010
The director of the Legal Services Policy Institute (LSPI) has warned the Legal Services Board (LSB) that it could be “unwise” to make will writing a protected service reserved for wills and probate solicitors, at least at this time.
Professor Stephen Mayson has said that his research into reserved legal activities – those that are held exclusive to the legal profession and cannot be commercially offered without the proper qualifications – has found that their origins are “remarkably obscure.” Professor Mayson says that he has found “little basis for suggesting a common policy rational that justifies their existence”, suggesting that the existing model for reserved legal activities is unsuitable as a basis for further regulation of legal services.
Currently, six legal activities are reserved for specialist lawyers. These are the rights of audience, the conduct of litigation, conveyancing, notarial work, the administration of oaths and certain probate services, such as applying for a grant of probate for a client.
Speaking in Legal Futures, Professor Mayson points out that there currently is a “regulatory gap” in reserved or regulated legal activities in many cases though. For example, some services are regulated by statute, whilst others are neither reserved or regulated but become so when the person who carries them out is – for example, when will writing is conducted by a probate solicitor.
This example is at the heart of the debate over extending the list of reserved activities to will writing, which the LSB has announced it will fast track a decision on ahead of its overall review of reserved activities. According to Professor Mayson, it would be “unwise to consider any particular legal activity for inclusion or exclusion in the absence of a broader set of criteria that could be generally applied.”
Tags: probate services, probate solicitors, wills and probate solicitors
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August 27th, 2010
The regulator of legal services in England and Wales, the Legal Services Board (LSB) and consumer protection body the Office of Fair Trading are set to review possible regulation of will-writing services.
According to the Society for Trust and Estate Practitioner’s (STEP), this issue has been due for consideration by the LSB since last October. Then, the Hunt Review from the Law Society of England & Wales recommended that the LSB should discuss “extending the edges of the regulatory ‘net’ to cover will writing and all probate work.”
However until last month, little progress had been made on discussing the issue between the Law Society, the LSB or the Solicitors Regulators Authority. But at a workshop held on the 26th of July, the LSB and the Office of Fair Trading canvassed representatives from wills and probate solicitor’s groups, will writing companies and consumer protection groups.
Following the workshop, this month the LSB announced that its consumer panel will investigate how and whether or not will writing should be brought within the remit of activities reserved for solicitors, such as representing a client in probate law case currently is. This course of action has already been taken in Scotland with the recently passed Legal Services (Scottish) Bill.
According to the Solicitors Journal, the panel’s research will include mystery shopping, structured interviews with consumers and interviews with providers. The Law Society Gazette reports that this LSB is to fast track this research ahead of its ongoing general review of reserved legal activities and that a report is expected before Alternative Business Structures (ABS) are brought into the solicitor profession later this year.
In a release on the workshop, the LSB said: “The present arrangements, which have grown up in a haphazard way over several centuries, do not reflect the realities of consumer protection in a diverse legal market. Because of concerns expressed about will writing, the LSB is looking at the case for regulation in this area on a more rapid timetable.”
Tags: probate law, probate services, probate solicitors
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August 27th, 2010
A recent case which saw the Balfour estate win a business property relief (BPR) claim could pave the way for all taxpayers to avoid inheritance tax (IHT), according to a City law firm.
As reported by IFA Online, HRMC claimed the 2,000 acre Scottish estate owed tax because it was an investment enterprise. Balfour’s executors argued that the estate was mainly a business, so it qualified for BPR, and they won.
Under probate law, BPR means owners don’t have to pay IHT when bequeathed to relatives.
“Many businesses will hold investment assets, such as commercial or residential property, which can potentially qualify for BPR if it’s less than half the business as a whole,” explained a City lawyer. “Each case will turn very much on its own facts, but the decision is to be welcomed by business owners and their advisers.”
The question was whether BPR could extend to a mixed business, but this landmark ruling proves that it can. “The arguments turn on the interpretation of the world ‘mainly’ and what quantitative and qualitative yardsticks should be used to conclude whether a business is ‘mainly investment’ or ‘mainly trading’,” the lawyer explained.
According to IFA Online, legislation states a business, including shares in a company, does not qualify for relief if it consists ‘wholly or mainly of making or holding investments’.
Probate law is complex, so consulting probate solicitors is always advisable; they will be able to help you plan to avoid inheritance tax efficiently.
Tags: probate law, probate solicitors
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August 25th, 2010
Companies are hounding grieving families as they chase payments due on their deceased loved one’s debt, even before their estates have been settled, according to finance commentators.
As reported by This is Money, banks and loans companies have been accused of hassling bereaved spouses and partners who have been left to struggle with massive debts.
Often couples don’t know that when they sign up to a joint credit agreement, they are responsible for the entire sum if something happens to their co-signer. This applies to mortgages taken out in both names, loans, rent arrears, council tax and utility bills.
However, being an additional card holder on a credit card, for example, doesn’t mean you’re liable for the debt. That’s because you haven’t signed the credit agreement.
“It is not appropriate for creditors to harass bereaved family members as all enquiries relating to a deceased’s affairs ought to be directed to the executors or personal representatives, who are often a firm of solicitors,” explained solicitor Andrew Kidd.
Many people don’t know what to do when someone dies, so it’s no surprise that people don’t realise debts don’t die with their loved ones. The responsibility to settle the debt is passed on the executors of the estate.
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) has reported a sharp rise in the number of people calling about these kinds of incidents. They advised notifying creditors as soon as possible to notify them of what has happened.
Tags: what to do when someone dies
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August 25th, 2010
The estate of a former winner of the Miss Great Britain beauty competition is at the heart of a long running contentious probate case, reports the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay.
Five years after the death of Doreen Dawne, who won the Miss Great Britain competition in 1952 under the name “Dorothy Dawn”, the courts have yet to grant probate of her estate. This is because her “bijou” apartment in London - described as a “sought-after address in Chelsea” – is the subject of a fierce dispute between claimants to Mrs Dawne’s estate.
When Mrs Dawne died in 2005, her flat was quickly sold for a reported sum of £300,000. However several different beneficiaries have laid claim to the money, keeping it effectively in limbo.
According to Kay, probate of her estate has been complicated by the presence of two different wills, each supposedly written by the deceased. The first will names the nearby St Michael’s Catholic Church as the sole beneficiary of the proceeds of the sale, which makes up almost the entirety of Mrs Dawne’s estate.
However this has been disputed by Mrs Dawne’s younger brother and her former neighbour, a friend of more than two decades. They claim that the will is inauthentic and that the beneficiary is therefore invalid.
“I have seen her signature on this will leaving everything to the Catholic Church, and it just doesn’t look right to me,” said the brother, Terrence Gaffney, 76. The Los Angeles resident says that he believes a second will, naming Mrs Dawne’s neighbour Onu Rhaman as a beneficiary, is the proper document.
The two have called in a handwriting expert to support Mr Rhaman’s claim to the estate. This will be used in evidence at a forthcoming High Court hearing scheduled for later this year, which will decide who the grant of probate will be awarded to and where the funds will finally go to.
Tags: contentious probate, Probate, probate of estate
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August 25th, 2010
A charity based in Worcester has launched a campaign to encourage people to write wills, reports Worcester News.
Marilyn Peachy, fund-raising director at St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester said the hospice hopes that people will “use the opportunity to leave a legacy” which is often a vital source of funding for any charity.
According to Charity Times, legacies are the single biggest source of unrestricted gifts and make up 12% of the third sector’s income.
“I know it’s something many people just don’t like to think about and keep putting off but it makes much more sense to get it done today,” said Tricia Cavell, fund-raising manager at St Richard’s Hospice. “Very often people don’t see any urgency about the issue, whereas in fact it is extremely important and can make a huge difference to the lives of those left behind.”
Earlier this year The BBC reported that over half of adults don’t have a will. Barnardo’s found that the figure rose to almost 75% with regards to cohabiting couples.
Ms Cavell said that many people work hard all their lives and they save money, but they still die intestate. “They don’t realise that if you die without a will… you will have no say over how your estate is split and your money could end up going to the Treasury.”
Tags: intestate
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August 24th, 2010
A copy of the will belonging to Anne Lister, known as the first ‘modern’ lesbian, is expected to fetch hundreds of pounds at auction.
According to The BBC, it’s a probate copy being auctioned, and it shows she bequeathed her estate to her lover Ann Walker.
“When the BBC did a drama-documentary about Anne Lister a few weeks back, they left the story with a rather rosy ending where Anne Lister and Ann Walker entered into a sort of marriage,” explained Richard Westwood-Brookes, who works for the firm auctioning the probate copy of the will. “Unfortunately, these documents prove that Ann Lister herself died only a few years later. Then Ann Walker was committed to a lunatic asylum.”
The news highlights just how important wills can be. Anyone who hasn’t written a will should draw one up with the help of wills and probate solicitors, because it sets out how they want their estate to be divided after their death, just like Anne Lister’s did.
According to Teresa Nixon, collections and information manager at West Yorkshire Archive Service, Anne Lister is a fascinating historical figure. Ms Nixon said: “She was a big landowner… She was a very good businesswoman and, importantly, she recorded her transactions – her business and her private life – in a whole series of diaries. They extend to about 27 volumes and over six million words. She was a very prolific diarist and the fact that so much information survived is very significant and very rare.”
The will was discovered in Wakefield earlier this year, according to Pink Paper. An anonymous man discovered the documents when sorting through the belongings of his father after he passed away.
Tags: Probate, wills and probate solicitors
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