Elizabeth Pender

We’ve adopted a donkey!

We have decided that instead of sending piles of Christmas cards this year, we would adopt a donkey from the Flicka Foundation. Flicka are a local donkey sanctuary based near Penryn. We had a vote in the office which was won by the festively named Sparkle! Sparkle arrived at Flicka in spring 2020 with her…

What are the grounds for contesting a Will?

Everyone’s Will should be a true reflection of their wishes. However, sometimes situations arise where it is thought that this has not been the case. Tegan Pownall explores the subject of how to deal with inheritance disputes, contesting a Will and what is referred to in legal terms as contentious probate. In simple terms, if…

Pensions and Divorce: what you need to know

In this blog which we published a while back, we discussed the part pensions play in divorce settlements. Rachel Reeves’ announced in her autumn budget that from 6 April 2027, “Most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes”. This will obviously have…

5 things farmers can do to help mitigate the impact of Labour’s autumn budget

Jason Crocker, Solicitor in Penderlaw’s Wills, Trusts and Probate team discusses the options available to farmers to mitigate the impact of Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget and to try to preserve their assets for future generations. Farmers were undeniably in the firing line of Rachel Reeve’s autumn budget. Her plans to change inheritance tax rules in…

How to prevent your Life Insurance increasing your IHT

Taking out life insurance is something many of us do to protect our families in the event of our death.  However, doing so can unwittingly tip your Estate over the inheritance tax threshold, and mean that your beneficiaries will have to pay HMRC a chunk of the money you had intended them to receive. Solicitor…

3 things first time buyers need to consider

We have seen a recent surge in enquiries from first time buyers, perhaps due to the recent cut in interest rates, the first drop in rates since March 2020 when the UK first entered lockdown.    So, we thought some top tips for first time buyers would be useful. Samantha Bellamy, Chartered Legal Executive at Penderlaw…

Estate Planning for Blended Families

family walking their dog through a field

An estimated 1 in 3 families in the UK now fall into the category of being described as a blended family (or step-family, i.e. one in which a couple lives together with children from their previous relationships). Whilst often having many positive benefits, such families are increasingly involved in bitter inheritance disputes that could have…

What is a Flexible Will?

lady with a child on her back kissing her cheek

Lucy Wilton, a solicitor in our Wills, Trusts and Probate team talks about Flexible Wills – What they are, why you might choose one, and how they work. A Simple Will You wouldn’t believe the number of people who contact us saying they would like to make a ‘Simple Will’. The reason most people make…