Trust, Wills and Probate

• Administering Estates - Procedures and Pitfalls A recent survey has shown that more than one in ten people who are thought to have died intestate (i.e. without leaving a will) may actually have made a will and that a similar number of those who leave a will which is initially believed to be the last will...
• Asset Valuation Problems - Chattels When dealing with an estate, an increasing problem for executors is the valuation of assets in the form of the chattels of the deceased. In probate terminology, chattels are the ‘everyday’ assets such as furniture and ordinary possessions, as...
• CGT and Shares in Estates Valuation Trap In the UK, there are quite generous exemptions from Inheritance Tax (IHT) which apply to business assets. One problem with making use of such exemptions is the effect this may have on the subsequent value of the relevant assets for Capital Gains Tax (CGT)...
• Changing Wills For Benefit A will expresses the final wishes of the deceased person and it is commonly thought that a will is irrevocable after death. However, provided everyone agrees, it is normally possible to vary a will provided that the application is made within two years of...
• Cohabitees and Death - Who Can Claim? When one member of a cohabiting couple dies, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to the bereaved partner to discover that not all of their late partner’s estate will pass to them in the absence of a will. It is only when this happens that many people...
• Dealing With an Insolvent Estate One of the rules that applies to the administration of estates is that whilst a person appointed as executor under a will can refuse to accept the appointment, once an executor ‘intermeddles’ in the estate, in principle he or she cannot then...
• Estates - What Happens if Values Fall? One of the biggest problems now facing executors is that assets can fall in value as well as increase, which can mean that the value of an estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes is greater than the market value later on. Where assets are disposed of at...
• Heir Hunters - Take Advice! Until the recent publicity afforded by television shows on the subject, many people might not have realised that ‘heir tracing’ companies exist, let alone that they research ‘promising’ estates by looking at public records and then...