One major piece of advice given by The Scotsman, is to know what you’re worth. Before you decide how to split your assets, you need to know what you have.

Next, make a list of any gifts of cash or goods that have been made to children, relatives or close friends in the past seven years. Under probate law, any gifts worth over £3,000 in any one year, and made within seven years of death, are liable for inheritance tax.

If you have step children, or children from numerous marriages, you need to think about what will happen if the dependent children are left in the care of a step-parent and how this will affect their inheritance. It’s a complex part of the probate of estate process, but wills and probate solicitors will be able to explain this to you.

Remember that will-writing is unregulated, so do your research before choosing wills and probate solicitors to help you plan your estate. If you opt for a company that is affiliated with professional bodies, they will be held accountable to codes of conduct, which makes them more trustworthy.

One final piece of advice is to preempt inheritance tax (IHT) charges. If you think your estate is likely to qualify for IHT, then plan for it. You could take out a life insurance policy which will offer a payout to contribute towards IHT. The key thing to be aware of, which many people don’t realise, is that whoever you make the executor of your will must pay the IHT bill from their own pockets, because HMRC requests the funds before the estate can be realised.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.”