Wills & Inheritance Tax The Law Society calls for will writers regulation
10/08/2010
The Law Society has called for greater regulation of the will- writers to match that of solicitors after BBC Panorama's Wills: The Final Rip Off? last night revealed the risks of using unregulated will writers.
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Office of Fair Trading approves will writers’ Code of Practice
The Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) has achieved OFT approval for its code of practice under the Consumer Code of Approval Scheme (CCAS).
The IPW currently has 190 full members representing an estimated 20 per cent of independent will writing businesses in the UK, and the approval means that consumers using an IPW member to make a will are safe in the knowledge that code approved members operate to a higher standard of consumer protection than the law requires.
Ten things to do...
It seems we do everything we can to avoid saying its name, referring to it euphemistically as “going to meet one’s maker”, “kicking up daisies” and “six feet under”. Shakespeare, before Python, said we “shuffle off this mortal coil” and my namesake referred to it as “that dreamless slumber”.
However much we choose to ignore the topic it, along with taxes, is one of life’s greatest inevitabilities. For us to think that if we banish it to the deepest recess of our minds, we will escape the trauma and difficulties which accompany this most challenging subject is both naive and reckless.
Tax the Dead – they can’t complain!
“Nothing in life is more certain than death or taxes” so famously said Benjamin Franklin whilst Alaistair Darling may well just have said “tax the dead – they can’t complain” in his recent budget and in holding the inheritance tax threshold at the current limit of £325,000 for the next five years this is exactly what he has done!
Most common misconceptions of wills revealed
Previous research by the Fellowship of Professional Willwriters and Probate Practitioners found that many people are yet to write a will, with one of the key reasons being a lack of understanding of the law. So what are the misconceptions?
Write a Will Week: expert legal and financial advice in a Webcast on 27th October at 1pm.
The complexities of modern family life makes having a valid will even more important. Writing your will is the best way to ensure your estate is passed on exactly as you wish in the most tax efficient manner – and this is why independent legal and financial advice should be sought.
Need a will? The BBC would like to help you write one... for free!
Have you got a valid will? If so, you’re in the minority. Every day, over 1,500 people die in the UK, and more than 70% of them die without a legally valid will – a truly shocking statistic, which can lead to conflict amongst the remaining family.
Now one of the country’s leading businessmen, Sir Gerry Robinson, wants to help change that. Assisted by expert legal advisors, he will help people to write their wills for a major new BBC2 series.
Time to make your will - on TV!
Thames TV are making a programme about the subject of inheritance. It will primarily be a celebration of modern family life, and especially the issues around writing a will - and they are actively looking to talk to people who have been putting off writing their will, or whose will is very out of date.
One way to avoid an IHT bill on a second property
A firm of wealth management lawyers, is advising clients worried about a 40% IHT bill on their holiday homes to consider giving them away now and paying rent to their heirs to use them.
Elderly sisters lose European appeal against inheritance tax liability
Two elderly unmarried sisters who appealed against a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that they should be liable for inheritance tax when the first of them dies have lost their appeal. "This is a day we hoped that we, as British citizens, would never see," they said.
Leaving a legacy? Then visit this site
A man who spent over 27 years working in charity legacy offices has set up a uniquely informative - and amusing - website to help people who wish to leave legacies to their favourite charity. Patrick Wise, now retired, decided to create the site after learning from experience just how many people fail to make a will, thereby failing to make the best gift of all - a legacy.
Do you know about the new change in powers of attorney?
Sara Rogers of Clarion Solicitors explains the changes which have just come into force.
The new IHT rules: what you need to know
Alistair Darling has now presented his first Pre-Budget report, and, as expected, it included some significant changes, notably to the Inheritance Tax (IHT) and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) regimes. Chris Budd considers the implications.
Tories: "We'll put Inheritance Tax threshold at £1 million"
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has promised to slash inheritance tax and stamp duty in a keynote speech at the Economic Competitiveness debate in the Conservative Party Conference.
Join our webchat on IHT next Tuesday
Young or old, super-rich or just ‘an average householder’, if you own a property then, sadly, inheritance tax (IHT) is something that will affect you. What’s more, because of rising house prices it is something that is affecting us more than ever before.
Join us for our live webchat next Tuesday to find out how you can prepare for the future.
