Article Category: Estate Administration & Probate

Coping with the death of a close family member or friend is understandably difficult and, at a time of loss, there are a number of practicalities that need to be dealt with more quickly than others. The initial steps that should be taken immediately after someone dies are: Register the Death The death should normally… Read more »

If you have been appointed as an executor of someone’s Will, or have taken up a role of personal representative if there wasn’t a  Will, you may have amassed a number of estate administration documents during the course of the process. These papers were important to ensure everything is accounted for, and in particular, to… Read more »

North West law firm, SAS Daniels LLP, has achieved its best ever rankings in national legal guides, Chambers UK and The Legal 500. Rankings in Chambers UK and The Legal 500 are key to the firm’s credentials, recognising the firm’s specialist teams, based solely on merit, and reinforcing its proposition as ‘No ordinary law firm’…. Read more »

Leading North West law firm, SAS Daniels LLP, is continuing on its 2014 growth curve with the retention of two newly qualified solicitors, Steven Percy and Caroline Fearns, after the pair successfully completed the firm’s two-year training programme. SAS Daniels, which has offices in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester and Congleton, was recently named as a finalist… Read more »

Where someone dies without disposing of all their estate by a valid will, the intestacy rules dictate who inherits. These intestacy rules have changed. From Wednesday, 1 October 2014 the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 came into force. Prior to 1 October 2014, if someone died without a will and was survived by a spouse… Read more »

Two projects have recently given residents in Congleton the opportunity to make a difference to the community. The Chappell Centre and Age UK Cheshire East’s new Congleton Hub were set up following generous legacies left under the wills of people who previously lived in Congleton. Leaving a gift to a local charity either during your… Read more »

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (MSSCA 2013) received Royal Assent in July 2013. The Act enables same sex couples to marry under the law of England and Wales and civil partners to convert their civil partnership to a marriage. The topic was the subject of heated debate and divided the Houses of Parliament…. Read more »

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has recently consulted on its proposals to remove the need for a physical (or ‘wet’) signature to be made on Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) forms. It proposed new legislation which would allow the donor and witnesses to sign electronically. The intention is that this will make it… Read more »

Did you know that ISAs are free from income and capital gains tax? However, contrary to the beliefs of a large number of people, cash or shares held within ISAs do form part of an individual’s estate on death to calculate liability for inheritance tax. Investment in shares in companies listed on the Alternative Investment… Read more »

It never ceases to amaze me, as someone who helps those administering an estate, how often estates can end up with estranged relatives who may never even have met the person who has died. If only the deceased had either got round to making a will or had updated the will they had made many… Read more »