It is entirely lawful for an Executor to also be a beneficiary under a Will, and in most Estates this arrangement works without difficulty. However, where an Executor who stands to benefit from an Estate fails to act fairly or transparently, the situation can quickly become distressing and contentious for other beneficiaries. In this article,…
No, this is not true. Amy Davis, a paralegal in our Wills, Trusts and Probate team says that one of the most common misconceptions she comes across is that clients believe that if they were to die without a Will, their Estate would pass to the Crown. This is not actually true. It would in…
A Will should be a true reflection of a person’s wishes. However, situations sometimes arise where there is doubt cast upon the validity of a Will. Disputes concerning Wills are referred to legally as Contested or Contentious Probate. This type of dispute becomes especially complex where a business is involved and can become even more…
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…
We’re proud of our team at Penderlaw Solicitors. Both knowledgeable and friendly, they are at the heart of our firm, what we do and the service we provide. In the second of our Meet the Team series of blog posts, we introduce Lucy Wilton (nee Duffin), from our Private Client team who deal with matters…
Having a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) may not be on your list of priorities if you are fit and healthy, even if you are not necessarily what could be described as a spring chicken! However, leaving it until you actually need it could mean you leave it until it’s too late. In the article…
Dealing with Probate when you have recently lost a loved one can be emotionally draining as well as time consuming at a time when you are least able to deal with it. There’s a fair amount of legal jargon associated with it, which can be confusing, and the tax regulations can be daunting too. So,…
Being asked to be an Executor in someone’s Will is quite a compliment, but it can also seem rather daunting. There are cases where it is possible for the process to be quite straightforward, but equally, there are also Estates which can turn out to be much more complicated than was initially apparent, or where…
Being asked to be someone’s Executor is a great compliment as it means they trust you implicitly to sort out their affairs. However, it also brings with it a great deal of responsibility, and not to put to fine a point on it, a reasonable amount of hard work too. Lucy Wilton from Penderlaw’s Wills,…
I was very pleased with the way my late husband’s estate was wound up smoothly and efficiently, despite working at the height of the coronavirus pandemic Mrs Jennifer Pashley…
