Blog

How to avoid a divorce like Brangelina

Once the golden couple of Hollywood, it was reported recently by the BBC that after 8 years of wrangling, Brad and Angelina are finally divorced. Whilst most of us have less complicated lives (not to mention fewer kids and less stuff to fight over!) it is still sad when we see couples making their divorces…

The January Divorce Phenomenon

It is a truth universally acknowledged that sadly January is the busiest month of the year for family lawyers and is sometimes described as the January divorce phenomenon. The festive period, which comes with the pressures of spending increased time with loved ones can often prove too much for a relationship to bear and those…

Diddly Squat? IHT, Trusts & Clarkson’s Farm

“People like me will simply put it in a Trust and, as long as I live for seven years, that’s fine.” Jeremy Clarkson So said Jeremy Clarkson when clashing with the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire in typically flamboyant style when protesting with farmers about Labour’s changes to IHT relief for farmers. A substantial increase of tax…

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…

Wills and Divorce – What you need to know.

Our team often get asked about the impact of divorce on existing legal arrangements such as Wills. Tegan Pownall, Solicitor in our family law team, explores the topic of Wills and Divorce. Should I wait until after my divorce to update my Will? When you’ve made the momentous decision to get divorced, making a new…

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…

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…