Category Archives: Private Client

September 12th, 2022

It is recurring theme that many people when they come to see us are married for a second time with children from the first marriage and are concerned to make provision for everyone in their Wills.  Mr A had just such a problem and we helped him resolve it. Mr A wanted to ensure that […]

August 29th, 2022

During 2021, there were 283,352 applications made for grants of representation; that is for Probate where there is a Will, or Letters of Administration on intestacy or other reasons. The person taking the Grant is called  “The Personal Representative “ (PR). The process of applying for a Grant of Representation can be relatively straightforward if […]

August 1st, 2022

That is determined by the Inheritance and Trustees Powers Act 2014: If there are surviving children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of the person who died and the estate is valued at more than £270,000, the partner (married or civil partners NOT unmarried) will inherit: all the personal property and belongings of the person who has […]

July 15th, 2022

Historically only taxable trusts needed to be registered. However, new rules introduced on 6 October 2020 require most UK trusts (and some non-UK trusts) to register via the Trust Registration Service (TRS) regardless of their taxable status. These rules apply to all express UK trusts. Common trusts included are Nil Rate band trusts and trusts […]

November 12th, 2021

Contesting a Will Heppenstalls offer a Fixed Fee service for assessing the merits of contesting a Will. For a fixed fee of £1200 (including VAT), we’ll complete an in-depth assessment of your case, and advise you if you have grounds for a claim or not. There are several grounds for contesting a will including: Lack […]

June 27th, 2019

Real Life Problems and their solutions – altering a Will Mr B is 84 and his brother had recently passed away leaving everything to him. It was a sizeable inheritance. Mr B is widower with 2 adult children and several adult grandchildren and he himself had savings and property of considerable value. He was concerned […]

May 21st, 2019

Real life problems and the solutions – Is probate required ? Mrs D came in to see us as her husband had just passed away. In his Will he had left everything to her. Most of their assets were in joint names such as their main bank account, a shared savings account and their home. […]

February 20th, 2019

Consideration of Pets in your Will We are a nation of pet lovers with approximately 12 million households having pets with 51 million pets owned. They are part of the family and very important to us, so it seems right we should give them some consideration when it comes to preparing our Wills. So what […]

February 7th, 2019

There are more than 6 million cohabiting couples in the UK and the number is rising. However, despite how common an occurrence it now is, problems can arise frequently for these couples upon death or separation. If you are co-habiting, you do not have the same rights as a married couple; and contrary to popular […]

January 30th, 2019

DIY Probate Pitfalls In 2017 there were 95,000 applications for a Grant of Representation by individuals; that is for Probate where there is a Will, or Letters of Administration on intestacy or other reasons. This compares with 155,000 applications through a Solicitor or alternative business structures. The person taking the Grant is called “The Personal […]