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News
New Twist in Drunken Art World Mystery
Ben Muessig
02/09/10
It's never as simple as blaming the drunk guy.
The mysterious story about the disappearance of a Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot painting took a strange new turn today when the criminal past of one of the painting's owners was revealed.
An American court has given the go-ahead for Claude Cassirer, 89, to sue Spain and the Thyssen-Bornemisza foundation for its return
Rosie Kinchen
The Sunday Times – 22/08/10
The painting, sold to the Nazis for $360 in 1939, is now worth $20m (Handout) The grandson of a Jewish socialite who fled Nazi Germany is set to sue the Spanish government for the return of a $20m (£13m) Pissarro painting that bought his grandmother her escape from the Holocaust.
Today the painting, of the Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, hangs in Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza museum. An American court has given the go-ahead for Claude Cassirer, 89, to sue Spain and the Thyssen-Bornemisza foundation for its return. Stuart Dunwoody, his lawyer, described the decision as “a victory”, adding that he was “very optimistic about the rest of the case”.
Lawyers warn of unscrupulous will-writers
Cara Waters
FTAdviser – 20/08/10
Lawyers are calling for regulation of the will-writing industry as unscrupulous will-writing companies sting customers with hidden costs.
Under current rules, anyone can set themselves up as a will-writer and charge for the service.
Bogus aristocrat who sold fake Lowry is told to repay £1m proceeds of fraud
Jack Malvern
Times Online – 06/08/10
A man who passed himself off as an aristocrat has been ordered to repay more than £1 million to victims of a series of frauds, including the sale of a fake Lowry painting.
Maurice Taylor, 62, was jailed in 2009 at Knutsford Crown Court for three years, on six counts of fraud. An investigation into his finances concluded on Tuesday when a judge at Chester Crown Court ordered him to repay £1,157,300. His most brazen crime was to trick Bonhams, the auction house, into giving a valuation of £600,000 for a painting that Taylor claimed was the work of L. S. Lowry. The auction house was taken in by Taylor’s lordly pretensions and offered to put the painting on the front of its Autumn 2007 catalogue.
Herzog family fight for art masterpieces
Roger Boyes
Times Online – 29/07/10
The Herzog family, fearing that they were about to be gassed or shot by the Nazis, scrambled to crate and hide one of the world’s finest art collections in the basement of a sooty factory warehouse.
After the Second World War the paintings — now valued at $100 million (£65 million) — were expropriated by the new communist regime in Hungary and took pride of place in state museums. There they stayed, because no curator would willingly surrender a work as notable as El Greco’s masterpiece The Agony in the Garden.
The friar and the Caravaggio thieves
Anna Arco
CatholicHerald.co.uk – 29/07/10
Meet the Maltese priest at the heart a sting operation which saved a precious painting of St Jerome
Fr Marius Zerafa, the priest who masterminded the rescue of a stolen Caravaggio, in front of a copy of Fra Angelico’s Annunciation, which he painted
Family written out of eccentric sisters' joint will... and £400,000 left to their hairdresser
Dan Newling
DailyMail.co.uk – 28/07/10
Battle: Jill Fraser, the hairdresser who stands to inherit nearly £400,000 from two 'eccentric' sisters
The family and friends of two eccentric sisters have launched a bitter legal battle over a £400,000 will which left almost their entire inheritance to their hairdresser.
David Cameron launches Big Society scheme
Emma Thelwell
Channel4.com – 19/07/10
David Cameron has kick-started the government's Big Society project, funded by cash languishing in dormant bank accounts. John Bird, who is founder of The Big Issue and advising the government, tells Channel 4 News cutting out waste is key.
Billed as "the biggest, most dramatic redistribution of power", Mr Cameron launched the Big Society project in Liverpool this morning – an area set to benefit most from the scheme, alongside the other three chosen communities of Eden Valley, Cumbria, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Sutton in London.
Judges keen to make wills in favour of 'Johnny-come-lately' relatives
Martin Beckford
Times Online – 10/06/10
Judges are too quick to make wills for mentally ill or elderly people in favour of "Johnny-come-lately" relatives, according to a legal expert.
Paul Hewitt, a partner at the leading law firm Withers, said that under a recent change in the law, the court dealing with those who cannot decide to whom they should leave their money must decide what would be in their "best interests".
What alternative business structures mean for the legal profession
Robert Heslett
Guardian.co.uk – 09/06/10
Any system that offers more choice is good for solicitors, for the users of legal services and for UK plc
Soon, perhaps as early as October next year, provision of legal services in England and Wales is set to change radically with the introduction of alternative business structures (ABS). Ownership of legal services providers – currently restricted to lawyers – will be open to anyone deemed "fit or proper". This could be an insurance company or a supermarket – hence the sobriquet "Tesco law".
Argentine media heirs face 'adoption' DNA tests
David Usborne
New York – 08/06/10
Activists suspect they were born to prisoners during the Dirty War
Marcel and Felipe Noble Herrera, the adopted children of Ernestina Herrera de Noble, the owner of the Clarin publishing group
Is 'Tesco law' heading for the long grass?
Jonathan Ames
Times Online – 03/06/10
It was years in the making and the centrepiece of Labour’s radical shake-up of legal services but the highly touted "Tesco law" phenomenon could be heading for the long grass, kicked there by less enthusiastic ministers in the new coalition Government.
"Big bang" day for lawyers in England and Wales is still on the horizon — the implementation of alternative business structures (ABSs) and external investment in law firms is scheduled for October 6 next year. But there are suggestions around Chancery Lane, the Inns of Court and Whitehall that the coalition does not share its predecessor’s determination to rush towards reform.
New rules tabled for will writing
BBC.CO.UK – 02/06/10
Will writers who are not lawyers face new rules to protect consumers.
New regulations to protect consumers in the drawing up of wills have been tabled by the Scottish government.
Law firms take up the supermarket challenge
Frances Gibb & Alex Spence
Times Online – 20/05/10
Solicitors are taking on supermarkets and banks in a High Street war for customers with a “superbrand” network of law firms in England and Wales.
More than 200 law firms have signed up to relaunch themselves under the brand QualitySolicitors, providing “no frills” legal advice on conveyancing, consumer and contract disputes and family law.
Exclusive: QualitySolicitors launches high street network
Catherine Baksi
Law Society Gazette – 20/05/10
Law firm marketing alliance QualitySolicitors has launched a national high street branch network in a bid to become the first ‘household name’ legal brand, the Gazette can exclusively reveal.
Today sees the opening of the first 15 QualitySolicitors branches across the UK, in a strategy described as a ‘game changer’ by one industry commentator.
Daughter branded 'greedy and vindictive' after launching legal bid for more inheritance
Martin Evans
Telegraph.co.uk – 14/04/10
A daughter has become embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with her parents after claiming she is owed £165,000 extra inheritance from the sale of her grandmother’s seafront mansion.
Mrs Jeffery believes the property could have fetched as much as £1.1 million during the boom.
Will-drafting firms use small print to slice thousands off inheritances
David Budworth
The Times – 31/03/10
Call for tighter controls on will writing after executors hit families with exhorbitant bills
Anyone who has written a will should carefully re-examine the terms after it emerged that many will drafting firms, including leading banks, hide huge fees in the small print that can slice tens of thousands of pounds off an inheritance.
UPDATE 1-UK Conservatives propose bank to fund social action
Estelle Shirbon
31/03/10
Conservatives want to channel money into social enterprise
If elected, Britain's Conservatives would set up an independent bank, funded by unclaimed bank assets, to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in social action, party leader David Cameron said on Wednesday.
Co-operative Financial Services to administer unclaimed assets fund
Celina Ribeiro
Civil Society – 24/03/10
Co-operative Financial Services has been appointed to set up and administer the dormant bank accounts reclaim fund that will provide money for new Big Lottery grants and eventually provide the funding cornerstone for the Social Investment Wholesale Bank.
While there remains no timeframe for the establishment of the fund, which some estimates suggest could be worth up to £250m, the revelation that a company has been appointed to manage it suggests there is some momentum building.
Who steals art?
Geoff Edgers – 14/03/10
Twenty years after the Gardner heist, detective Charles Hill says art thieves aren’t so clever
Twenty years ago this week, two men dressed as police officers duped the guards at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and took off with three Rembrandts, a Vermeer, and a handful of other works. It remains the largest theft in the history of the art world, and the daring midnight heist still captures our imagination: Who stole them? Was it for money, or to trade for an IRA prisoner? What kind of black market netherworld did the stolen paintings vanish into?
Time to activate dormant millions
Esther Shaw – 10/03/10
HSBC has reunited about 7,400 customers with £10.5 million in dormant accounts since 2008
SAVERS with cash in dormant accounts with banks and building societies are being urged to claim the hundreds of millions of pounds left in these long-forgotten deposits.
Tragic ex-partner of Little Britain star Matt Lucas leaves £1m in will
Mail on Sunday – 27/02/10
The former partner of Little Britain star Matt Lucas left an estate worth £1million. Kevin McGee, 32, was found hanged at his Edinburgh flat in October. The TV producer is thought to have been depressed after his break-up with Lucas.
His apparent suicide note on Facebook read: ‘Kevin McGee thinks that death is much better than life.’ Friends say his drug use had grown out of control.
Judge criticises RSPCA for taking bereaved family to court over disputed will
Telegraph.co.uk – 12/02/10
The RSPCA has been criticised by a judge for taking the heirs of a wealthy donor to court in a bid to increase its share of his estate.
In his will, George Mason divided his estate, worth almost a million pounds, between the charity, his brother John and two friends, Norman and Patricia Sharp.
Brits express interest in video wills
Hodge Jones & Allen
08/02/10
A growing number of people are expressing an interest in creating a video will, new research has revealed.
The organisation Remember a Charity carried out a study and discovered that 63 per cent of respondents would be interested in putting their last will and testament onto film so that their loved ones can hear and see them explain their decisions regarding inheritance.
Victim leaves estate to his accused killer - his youngest son
Tim Damos
Wisconsin State Journal – 25/01/10
TOWN OF DELTON — A man shot dead last week left nearly his entire estate to his accused killer, his youngest son, public records show.
Aside from leaving a motorcycle to his brother and $1,400 to a minor daughter, 55-year-old Angelo "Nick" Crisafulli, father of seven, left everything to Michael A. Crisafulli, 13, who prosecutors say shot his father to death last week with a small caliber pistol in their rural town of Delton home.
Inheritance Tax: prepare for the worst case scenario
Dennis Hall
www.citywire.co.uk – 24/01/10
It is an election year and the two main parties are at odds over Tory claims that more than 4 million people in Britain now face an average inheritance tax liability of £60,000.
This follows the government's decision to abandon a planned rise in the individual IHT threshold from £325,000 to £350,000 in the Pre-Budget Report, a decision that means people who might have reasonably expected to be lifted above the threshold will remain subject to this tax.
Could the EU 'house grab' law be applied to UK homes?
Tim Shipman
www.dailymail.co.uk – 04/12/09
British homeowners could potentially lose their property if it was ever owned by someone with relatives abroad
British citizens could have their homes snatched from them on the orders of a European court under a new Brussels power grab.
Brothers living in cave to inherit billions from lost grandmother
Henry Samuel
Telegraph – 02/12/09
Zsolt and Geza Peladi have no fixed address and eke out an existence by selling junk they find in the street.
But their scavenging days are about to be over. The brothers have been informed they are entitled to their long-lost grandmother’s fortune, along with a sister who lives in America.
Tories will give live-in couples 'married' rights
James Chapman
The Daily Mail – 23/11/09
Henry Bellingham said couples who live together should get similar rights to those who get married
Cohabiting couples would be handed sweeping new legal rights by the Tories despite fears that the plan could further undermine marriage.
Final Duties unveils pre-paid probate plan
Lindsey White
ftadviser.com – 19/11/09
Probate broker Final Duties has teamed up with Funeral Planning Services to launch the UK's first pre-payment probate plan, which it says is designed to allow families to better shield the value of an inherited estate.
Similar to pre-paid funeral plans, Final Duties bases its fees on the amount of work involved in handling an estate as opposed to the value of the estate.
Cohabiting couples can’t have their cake and eat it
Times online
30/10/09
If they don’t like the law, there’s a solution: get married
When someone in authority says “these reforms will bring the law into line with public expectation and attitudes”, you know that it is time to worry. Those were the words of Professor Elizabeth Cooke, of the Law Commission, as she proposed a change in the law to give the surviving half of an unmarried couple the automatic right to inherit a proportion of their late partner’s wealth. At present, unmarried couples who die intestate may have to go to court when one dies and can face a challenge from their partner’s family.
Judge overturns couple's £2.3m will and awards farm to daughter
Helen Carter
09/10/09
Court accepts that husband bullied wife into signing will giving RSPCA their estate
Christine Gill outside Leeds crown court after winning her legal challenge to her parents' will. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA
Preparing for the digital afterlife
Duncan Jefferies
30/09/09
How should we deal with web users' Facebook, PayPal and other accounts when they log off for good?
Legacy of worries ... Ruth Fisher mourns the death of her husband in TV series Six Feet Under.
Rewrite your wills! Couples warned as public debt threatens inheritance tax pledge
Stephen Womack
26/09/09
Families are being urged to take prompt action to cut potential inheritance tax bills amid fears that the precarious state of the country's public finances could mean an end to generous thresholds. Inheritance tax (IHT) is charged at 40 per cent on legacies, though bequests to a spouse or charity are free of tax and the first £325,000 of any other bequest is tax-free.
Growing public resentment over the increasing number of people forced to pay inheritance tax has pushed the tax up the political agenda. In October 2007, the Conservative party pledged to raise the threshold at which the tax kicks in to £1million, allowing a couple to pass on £2million of wealth between them.
Mistresses entitled to family fortune
21/09/09
Mistresses and love-children will soon be entitled to a share of the family fortune unless there is a will in place specifically ruling them out.
Controversial new intestacy laws, to take effect in NSW early next year, introduce the concept of "multiple spouses" to increase provision for de facto relationships, The Daily Telegraph says.
Nationwide probate deal
Rachel Rothwell
www.lawgazette.co.uk – 03/09/09
The Law Society has published a joint protocol with the Nationwide Building Society to assist in the winding up of estates.
The protocol is the first such agreement to be reached with a building society, although similar arrangements are already in place with banks HSBC and Lloyds TSB. Further discussions are under way with other financial institutions.
Widow of rally driver forged his will
www.cambridge-news.co.uk – 20/08/2009
The widow of former top rally driver Tony Fall has admitted forging his will.
Patricia Fall, 59, was warned she could face prison when she admitted trying to pass off a will as genuine which had been left unsigned and unwitnessed when he died suddenly while in Tanzania helping the organisers of the East African Classic Safari Rally.
Treasurer wants to reunite $16.7 billion in unclaimed Savings Bonds with their owners
Rick Steelhammer
The Charleston Gazette, W Virginia – 23/07/09
Putting $16.7 billion worth of unclaimed U.S. Savings Bonds in the hands of their owners "would be a stimulus package of its own," as well as the right thing to do, according to State Treasurer John Perdue.
That's why he and other state treasurers are lobbying Congress to support a bill, introduced by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, requiring the U.S. Bureau of Public Debt, headquartered in Parkersburg, to release the records of matured savings bonds in a searchable format.
Marriage ruling for Muslim women hailed
Subashni Naidoo
18/07/09
The Muslim community has lauded a watershed Constitutional Court ruling enabling widows of polygamous marriages to inherit a share of their deceased husbands’ estates.
The ruling came after Cape Town widow Fatima Gabie Hassam, 62, challenged the Intestate Succession Act, which recognised only one spouse. She was married to businessman Ebrahim Hassam, who took a second wife, Mariam.
Nina Wang left me her cash, feng shui guide tells Hong Kong court
Jonathan Watts in Beijing
www.guardian.co.uk – 24/06/09
The battle over the inheritance of Nina Wang, formerly Asia's richest woman, took a new turn today when her feng shui adviser told a Hong Kong court that she had bequeathed him the money because she considered him her husband.
Testifying for the first time, Tony Chan Chun-chuen said he and the tycoon were lovers when his wife was pregnant. "We were already together then. She was already calling me her husband," he said.
Deal of the Week: Probate broking
Steve Lodge
FT.com – 17/05/09
A service for finding a competitively-priced probate solicitor. Final Duties claims to be the UK’s first independent broker for the work involved in administering a deceased person’s estate.
The intermediary uses a panel of 16 solicitor firms to provide a fixed-price quote for probate, which it claims will typically be half what a high-street solicitor would charge, or a quarter of a bank’s fees. There is no charge for the quote but Final Duties levies a fee of £295, including VAT, if the quote is accepted.
Norwich Union: Inheritance tax confuses families
The Telegraph – 22/04/09
Norwich Union has conducted research which reveals that many families in the UK are confused by the procedures surrounding inheritance tax, which may leave them paying more death duty than is necessary to the government.
The study reveals that more than one in five people who are likely to have to pay inheritance tax have no idea they are required to.
Missing people and the presumption of death bill
Jenny Percival
guardian.co.uk – 25/03/09
Law change could bring closure to families caught in cash and emotional limbo
It is very difficult for families to register the death of a missing person in the absence of a body. Without the death certificate that registration brings it is difficult to deal with practicalities such as disposing of their estate, dissolving a marriage or civil partnership, claiming benefits and life insurance or remortgaging a house.
Tories deny inheritance split
23/03/09
Conservatives have denied claims of a top-level split over inheritance tax after shadow business secretary Kenneth Clarke yesterday appeared to pour cold water on George Osborne's flagship policy.
Mr Clarke described the plan to abolish the tax for estates worth less than £1 million - or £2 million for couples - as an "aspiration" which would be pursued "sooner or later" but would not be a priority after a Conservative electiovictory.
Property slump offers unexpected IHT relief; the downturn has an upside when disposing of an estate
Graham Norton
The Observer – 22/02/09
A falling property market could result in inheritance tax (IHT) relief for thousands of families selling the homes of deceased relatives.
Delays in finding buyers stretching months or years has seen many homes sold for significantly less than the "probate" valuation, calculated at the time of death and registered with the tax authorities.
Battle of wills: why more of us are going to court
Frances Gibb, Legal Editor
Times Online – 02/02/09
Battles over wills are some of the most bitterly fought of courtroom contests - and they are on the rise. The number of High Court cases involving wills and inheritance rose by 175 per cent - from 83 in 2006 to 228 in 2007, according to the latest figures.
Broken down, the figures show an increase in wills disputes of 153 per cent, from 73 in 2006 to 185 in 2007; and in inheritance disputes of 330 per cent, from 10 in 2006 to 43 in 2007.
Bank seeks to collect on note from deceased woman's estate
Kelly Holleran
www.setexasrecord.com – 05/01/2009
J.P. Morgan Chase Bank has filed suit against the unknown heirs of a deceased Texas woman, alleging the heirs failed to make payments on a promissory note after her death.
Azzie Lee McClatchy executed a promissory note with Chase on Nov. 19, 2004, for $20,000 with interest at 6.85 percent, according to the complaint filed Dec. 19 in Jefferson County District Court.
Jackson lawyer stole almost $1 million from estate
The Associated Press – 01/01/2009
A Jackson attorney has been jailed after admitting he looted a $1 million estate. Court documents indicate Richard McQuillan wrote checks of up to $200,000 each to himself from the estate of Robert T. Howard.
TJackson County Probate Judge Diane Rappleye had ordered McQuillan to account for the missing money.
10 ways to reduce your tax bill
Dylan Lobo
www.citywire.co.uk/adviser – 08/12/08
Research by unbiased.co.uk shows UK taxpayers wasted £1.9 billion on unnecessary inheritance tax payments out of total £9.3 billion in tax wastage.
The findings from the independent financial website show payments for the so-called death tax rose by 24% on 2007, an increase of almost £370 million.
As legacies grow ever bigger, families show an increasing will to call in their lawyers
Neasa McErlean
The Observer – 30/11/08
Lawyers are seeing an extraordinary rise in the number of disputes over wills.
There has been a threefold increase since 2004, according to City law firm Wedlake Bell, while East Anglian and Midlands solicitor Mills & Reeve now handles so many that it has three specialists working on them.
The Great Heir Chasers
Diana Lynn Tibert
www.kingscorecord.canadaeast.com/ – 25/11/08
This is the time of year scam artists seem to choose to make their big hits.
I guess it is because everyone is on heightened alert looking for deals or a way to get things done faster. But scams aren't new. And some specifically target genealogists.
Institute of Chartered Accountants backs off in probate battle
Accountancy Age – 01/10/08
Costs and regulation force ICA to back off from enabling members to carry out probate work.
The ICAEW has backed off from its fight to enable accountants to offer probate services over fears of onerous regulation and costs.
Changes to statutory legacy 'may encourage complacency' about making a will
Financial Adviser Magazine – 18/09/08
The downside to the statutory legacy changes is that it may encourage a people to overlook the need to write a will, says Standard Life.
Changes to inheritance law affecting the statutory legacy could make people complacent about making a will, Julie Hutchison, estate planner for Standard Life, has warned.
Tories in £2m inheritance pledge
Telegraph.co.uk – 02/09/08
Tory proposals on the inheritance tax threshold will mean families would be able to inherit up to £2 million tax-free, it was reported.
The Daily Telegraph said the new limit would come about because couples would be entitled to a £1 million allowance per person, transferable to the surviving partner after their death.
Justice ministry raises level of 'statutory legacy
The Guardian – 30/08/08
Partners of people who die without a will stand to be better off after the Ministry of Justice announced major changes to inheritance rules this week.
But as justice minister Bridget Prentice admits, the changes, which come into force on February 1, are no substitute for a valid will.
Must Do for August: sort out that Will .
www.citywire.co.uk – 04/08/08
Now that the Finance Bill has received Royal Assent, and new inheritance tax (IHT) rules are ‘on the books’ it is worth lifting your head from the holiday sand and taking some time to consider what would happen to your property, money and possessions on your departure.
This most sensitive of subjects still fills many with dread despite the fact that preparing a Will doesn’t make us die any sooner.
Prenuptial deals could be made legally binding.
The Guardian – 11/06/2008
Prenuptial agreements could become legally binding in England and Wales within a few years, under plans being considered by the Law Commission.
The plans will form part of the commission's latest programme of law reform, unveiled today, which will also consider whether the law on intestacy - inheritance when a person dies leaving no will - should be altered.
"Prenups" are not, at the moment, binding, though judges take them into account if they have been freely entered into and include fulldisclosure of the assets involved.
Son accused of forging father's £2.5m will .
www.Telegraph.co.uk – 04/06/2008
The son of a wealthy businessman has gone on trial accused of forging his father's £2.5 million will after the dead man's girlfriend questioned why she had been left out.
Pat Powell, 59, became suspicious after learning she had been left nothing by Jimmy Swanston, despite his assurances that she would be " provided for", a court was told on Tuesday.
Lesbian parents 'must make a will'.
Sydney Star Observer – 15/05/2008
Same-sex parents will need to update their wills following the NSW Government’s reforms to recognise two mothers of a child conceived through artificial insemination.
Attorney-General John Hatzistergos warned while presumption of relationship and inheritance was generally retrospective, it did not extend to wills made before the new laws’ commencement.
FAMILY FINANCE: What to expect when there's no will.
www.newsday.com (NY) – 11/05/2008
How do I find out if my father-in-law left a will? He died in March 2006, leaving three houses and other assets. His widow, who is not the mother of his six children, told them that "their father did not leave anything for them."
You've written that if someone dies without a will in New York State their assets are divided between their surviving spouse and children. We have reason to believe that my father-in-law did not leave a will. But his wife doesn't answer his children's calls or return messages, although they had an excellent relationship before his death. Three of the children want to find out if there was a will, just on principle; the others say just forget about it. How should we proceed? HD via e-mail
PA left millions by businessman fights legal battle to prove will was not a forgery.
Daily Mail – 22/04/2008
A High Court Judge heard claims today that "very great suspicion" surrounds a will in which a personal assistant was left millions of pounds by her boss.
Helen Dolores O'Connor, 64, says the will of her former employer Herbert Baer - in which she was given the lion's share of his £3.5m fortune - is genuine.
Pitfalls of leaving a legacy for just £4.99.
The Observer – 23/03/200
A DIY pack can provide you with a legally binding will, but may also create problems. If you are overcome by a sense of your own mortality as you buy your local paper, don't panic - you could be in the right place to do something about it. You can now get a DIY 'will pack' in shops across the country, including more than 7,000 newsagents, for less than £5.
Perhaps Smith (pictured) was lucky in having something to fight over. While not everyone has the riches of an oil baron to leave behind, millions of us never get round to the important task of making a last will and testament.
Dying without a will leaves a fortune behind.
The Times – 06/03/08
Every day someone in the UK dies alone and intestate. This can prove lucrative for whoever turns out to be the next of kin - and to the probate researchers who inform the lucky individual
On Wednesday evenings, staff at London's probate research offices head home soon after 5pm, as the following morning will, as every week, demand an early start. In the middle of the night, the Government publishes a list of those who have died intestate; that is without a will, and without any close relatives. Most will have been hermits or recluses.
Lay to rest the worries of being executor.
The Guardian – 09/02/2008
When a loved one dies there are many issues to cope with, both practically and emotionally. Stefanie Ives looks at what has to be done and where to find the help you need
Inheritance tax is not something that is at the forefront of most people's minds. In fact, 27 million Brits have no idea what it is, or how to keep their money out of the chancellor's clutches, according to research from life insurer Friends Provident.
Families battle as contested will cases soar.
From The Independent – 03/01/2008
The family drawing room used to be the preferred forum for resolving messy disputes over inheritance. But more and more jealous children and cheated wives are taking acrimonious wrangles to court.
The number of families contesting a relative’s will has risen by 200 per cent since 2004, according to one law firm. And high-profile disputes are being fought in public with increasing regularity. In November, for example, David Thorner, a labourer, inherited a £2.3m farm estate from his cousin following a two-year legal battle. And relatives of Golda Bechal, an 88-year-old widow, went to the High Court to challenge her will after she left most of her £10m fortune to the owners of her favourite restaurant.
Whatever the family fortunes, your nearest and dearest will thank you for leaving a will.
From Independent On Sunday – 27/01/2008
She led a colourful life, but Anna Nicole Smith is probably best remembered for the much-publicised court battle over the will of her late husband, J Howard Marshall. The busty blonde fought for more than a decade to make sure she received some of the nonagenarian oil billionaire’s $1.6bn (£800m) fortune.
Perhaps Smith (pictured) was lucky in having something to fight over. While not everyone has the riches of an oil baron to leave behind, millions of us never get round to the important task of making a last will and testament.
Families battle as contested will cases soar.
The Independent – 03/01/2008
The family drawing room used to be the preferred forum for resolving messy disputes over inheritance. But more and more jealous children and cheated wives are taking acrimonious wrangles to court.
The number of families contesting a relative’s will has risen by 200 per cent since 2004, according to one law firm. And high-profile disputes are being fought in public with increasing regularity. In November, for example, David Thorner, a labourer, inherited a £2.3m farm estate from his cousin following a two-year legal battle. And relatives of Golda Bechal, an 88-year-old widow, went to the High Court to challenge her will after she left most of her £10m fortune to the owners of her favourite restaurant.
Dog left £6m is forced into hiding.
The Daily Express – 04/12/2007
A dog that inherited £6million has had to go into hiding after being bombarded with death threats.
Trouble the Maltese terrier was enjoying a £145,000-a-year luxury lifestyle of pampering and personalised meal plans. But after two dozen death threats she has been whisked off in a private jet from her home in Connecticut to an undisclosed location with her own 24-hour security team.
Brooke Astor's 83-year-old son charged with changing her will.
The Independent – 01/12/2007
The 83-year-old son of Brooke Astor, the New York socialite and philanthropist who died in August, faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison following charges that he took advantage of his dying mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, to change her will and enrich himself by tens of millions of dollars.
Anthony Marshall, hitherto known as a pillar of New York society with a background as a diplomat and a Tony award-winning Broadway theatre producer, found himself being arraigned in court earlier this week on a flurry of charges including falsifying records, scheming to defraud and grand larceny.
Just because it's digital doesn't mean it's safe.
The Daily Telegraph – 26/11/2007
It stands to reason, does it not, that all paper records should be put in digital form so that they can be accessed online.
It is simpler, quicker, cheaper and more efficient. Who wants to plough through lots of dusty files when the information can be available at the click of a mouse?
How to ensure your heirs aren't stuck with the widow's mite.
The Daily Telegraph – 24/11/2007
Hundereds of thousands of married couples have good reason to celebrate the Tories' recent rediscovery of the popularity of tax cuts which, perhaps by happy coincidence, came immediately before Labour's sudden decision to change the way inheritance tax (IHT) works.
There are 2.86m widows and 800,000 widowers in England, Scotland and Wales who could all benefit from increased IHT allowances thanks to changes in the rules made by Chancellor Alistair Darling in his pre-budget statement. This year everyone has a £300,000 IHT allowance.
Neasa MacErlean outlines the four main ways of maximising what your offspring can inherit.
The Observer – 14/10/2007
The biggest reason why the middle classes worry about inheritance tax is their children.
Married couples and civil partners with assets worth less than £600,000 may now be confident their children will not inherit a tax bill, but how can those with bigger estates, and unmarried couples, divorcees and single parents with assets worth more than £300,000 maximise the money they leave to their families after they have gone?
As a recent court ruling that overturned a gift of £8m to the Tories showed, unfair bequests can be amended - even if there's not always so much to gain.
The Sunday Telegraph – 21/10/2007
Last week the son of a wealthy businessman successfully challenged his father's will, which had left his £8m fortune to the Conservative Party.
It is rare that wills are overturned in court, but this judgment may give hope to children, spouses and partners who feel that they have been unfairly overlooked in the last will and testament of their nearest and dearest.
More than half of all adults have not made a will, yet it means they cannot choose their heirs.
From The Daily Telegraph – 01/09/2007
If you die without leaving a will you have died "intestate". The law dictates who your money will be passed to and this may not match your wishes.
The only exception is where assets are owned jointly. This is the case with many homes owned by married couples - the legal definition is joint tenants rather than tenants in common - and also joint bank and savings accounts.
Where making a will was nothing but trouble.
The Daily Telegraph – 01/09/2007
Hotel billionaire Leona Helmsley left more in her will to her dog, a white Maltese called Trouble, above, than to nearly all of her family put together, lawyers disclosed this week.
While the dog got $12m (£6m), two of her grandchildren got nothing.
Super rich furry animals: Laura Barton on animals who inherit fortunes.
From The Guardian – 31/08/2007
For a time at least, the glossy advertisements for Helmsley Hotels in the American press featured the chain's infamous owner, Leona Helmsley, smiling regally, accompanied by her dog, a white Maltese bitch.
It seems fitting that in the end this is what Helmsley's life boiled down to: a twin devotion to property and a dog named Trouble.
Wealthy earl leaves his son nothing but a pocket watch.
The Daily Express – 25/08/2007
As the eldest son of one of Britain's richest aristocrats, Hugh Lowther was in line for a substantial inheritance from his father.
James Lowther, the 7th Earl of Lonsdale, thought differently – and left his successor nothing but a pocket watch. The Earl is said to have disinherited his son on his deathbed.
Probate row hits Abbey.
The Daily Express – 25/07/2007
ABBEY bank has been criticised by Your Money readers for the poor service it is providing to relatives of customers who have died this year.
Abbey handles about 5,000 deceased customers' accounts a month and says it should "ideally" take just 10 working days to close an account and pass money on to the late customer's estate. However, a number of Daily Express readers have reported a wait of up to three months for the funds. David Watts's late mother-in-law had investments of more than £100,000 with Abbey in a current account and a savings bond.
Don’t keep it in the family.
From The Independent – 19/07/2007
A businessman vows to give away a billion to charity. Another family contests a £8m bequest. The rich are getting richer, and their children all want a slice of the pie. But do wealthy dynasties always make for happy heirs? We offer some cautionary tales
For 150 years, the Hesketh family owned Easton Neston, one of Northamptonshire’s finest stately homes, with an estate that included Towcester racecourse. Then along came Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh ( below). Born in 1950, the rotund Lord Hesketh inherited his title at five, following the early death of his father, and his estate and fortune at 21. By 2004, Easton Neston had to be sold.
To my son Mick, I leave nothing... He's already rolling in it.
The Mail on Sunday – 17/06/2007
Every father hopes to leave their son some savings when they die. But when your son is multi-millionaire Rolling Stone singer Sir Mick Jagger it does not seem appropriate.
Instead, Joe Jagger, who died in November last year at the age of 93, left almost everything to Mick's younger brother Chris, 59, whose career as a musician has never hit the same heights.
The tragic sainsbury's heir who gave away his millions...
Just like his mother 20 years before.
From The Mail on Sunday – 27/05/2007
'I have never regretted giving away my inheritance - and when jason was told he was dying of cancer at just 30 I knew that he would do the same... '
FOR Annabel Sainsbury, scion of one of Britain's wealthiest dynasties and sister of the former Labour Cabinet minister Lord Sainsbury, the 30th birthday of her eldest son Jason should have been a proud milestone. It was the day when Jason inherited a £2.5million fortune from his grandfather, the late supermarket baron Sir Robert Sainsbury, and an occasion that had prompted much speculation at the family's 400-acre estate in Horsham, West Sussex.
Lost, wealthy, generous - he was a priceless target; Death of an aristocrat; Factbox
From The Times – 26/05/2007
As a direct descendant of political heavyweights, social reformers and writers, expectation was perhaps destined to be a troubling burden for Anthony Ashley-Cooper.
On becoming the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury at the age of 22, he not only inherited the family's 9,000-acre estate in Wimborne, Dorset, but also its proud traditions, defined by the Shaftesbury motto: Live, serve.
The top doctor, a secret love child... and two brothers at war over inheritance
From The Daily Express – 16/05/2007
It is a tale of sexual intrigue which would not look out of place in the pages of a Barbara Taylor Bradford novel. One illegitimate brother battling another for a share of the family fortune while an eminent doctor is accused of fathering a secret love child.
But this salacious saga is not the plot of a best seller – it is the devastating reality of a High Court case which has ripped a wealthy family apart.
How David Miliband avoided inheritance tax on Marxist
father's £1.5m house
From The Mail on Sunday – 22/04/2007
Revealed: Minister used loophole that chancellor has branded 'Tax abuse' to save thousands in death duties.
DAVID MILIBAND is living in a £ 1.5 million London townhouse at the centre of a complex inheritance-tax avoidance scheme Gordon Brown has pledged to ban.
Brown's £3bn raid on house buyers.
From The Evening Standard – 22/03/07
London home buyers are being hit the hardest in a record £3.4 billion rise in stamp duty bills.
Treasury figures show a 40 per cent increase in the property sales tax.
Peace at last over King's £27m will.
From The Daily Mail – 22/03/07
Ex-BA chief's family strike a deal.
He was Mrs Thatcher's favourite businessman, the washerwoman's son who through his sheer dynamism turned British Airways into an international success story.
Budget Bosses urge Brown to ease tax burden.
From The Daily Telegraph – 12/03/07
Businesses and economic experts have pleaded with Gordon Brown to slash taxes in next week's Budget, warning that the UK's competitiveness was plunging and already driving away businesses.
In its Budget submission, delivered to 11 Downing Street this morning, the Institute of Directors urges Mr Brown to cut business taxes and relieve some of the cost pressures faced by UK companies.
How dying Earl's 'illegible' stroke of a pen sparked
the £325M battle of the Lonsdales.
From The Mail on Sunday – 11/03/07
Aristocrat says he was disinheited after claiming that his father abused him as a child.
One of Britain's oldest and wealthiest aristocratic families has been driven apart by a bitter feud over a £325 million inheritance.
House Prices Soaring Even Faster
Daily Express – 09/03/07
HOME owners had double cause to celebrate last night. A key report showed prices soaring and interest rates were put on hold.
Fears of a downturn in the market were dispelled as annual price rises hit nearly 10 per cent and experts predicted the upward trend will continue thoughout 2007.
How to reduce the tax on inheritance
Daily Mail – 28/02/07
FREEING up cash locked in your home through equity release could help to reduce your future inheritance tax bill and allow you to spend money on yourself or make a gift to your family while you are still around to see them enjoy it.
Most middle-class homeowners have the bulk of their wealth tied up in their property. By unlocking some of it and giving it away at least seven years before you die, your relatives could avoid paying inheritance tax (IHT) on this amount.
2.3million homes in tax band
Mirror – 24/02/07
THE number of houses worth more than the £300,000 inheritance tax level has doubled in five years, figures show. More than 2.3million people now live in a home which would make them liable for death duties.
In all, 236 postcodes are liable, 11 per cent of all districts, and up from 117 postcodes in 2001.
The £5m estate left in limbo by its heir
Daily Mail – 22/02/07
SET in the midst of a 1,000-acre country estate, it was once a magnificent house befitting its surroundings. But Fir Hill Manor has fallen into rack and ruin after lying empty for 40 years because the owner refuses to claim his inheritance.
The heir to the £5million Cornish estate lives in America, apparently penniless and in illhealth, and is blocking the land and house from being claimed by anyone else.
Brown takes billions from 'tax-free' Isas
The Sunday Times – 04/02/07
The chancellor stands to make three times as much in inheritance tax on the savings schemes as he ever gave in tax breaks, writes David Budworth
THOUSANDS of investors who have saved diligently into Peps and Isas to take advantage of the tax perks might be better off just giving the money away - or spending it.
Treasury denies that half UK faces death tax
The Guardian – 23/01/07
The Treasury last night dismissed claims that nearly half of the country faces the prospect of paying inheritance tax because of Gordon Brown's failure to increase the threshold in line with inflation.
A spokesman condemned as "scaremongering" reports that the number of estates liable for a 40% tax bill had increased significantly in the past year.
Sister forged £18m will to cheat me, says lawyer
Daily Mail – 17/01/07
A barrister yesterday accused his half- sister of forging a will to fleece him out of a share of his father's £18million estate.
Stephen Supple, 58, was stunned when his father Leonard died, leaving him a 'gift' of a mere £100 a year - to continue until he reached 70.
Property boom pushes value of homes to record pounds 3.8 trillion
The Guardian – 15/01/07
The booming property market has pushed the total value of Britain's private homes to a record level, according to the country's largest mortgage lender.
The annual housing stock review from the Halifax showed the UK's private housing stock was worth pounds 3.8 trillion in 2006, up by pounds 410bn or 12% from the previous year. The rise is equivalent to four times the total budget for the National Health Service.
Nun leaves £870,000 to Londoners
The Evening Standard – 12/01/07
Needy Londoners are to benefit from an £870,000 windfall after a court upheld the final wishes of a Roman Cath' nun.
In her last days at Bart's Hospital in March 2003, Sister Joseph Harding executed a handwritten will giving all she had to the Diocese of Westminster 'to hold in trust for the black community of Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Tower Hamlets'.
Found: Long lost brother of ex-model who left £4m
The Mail on Sunday – 03/12/06
Legal experts are warning that the proposed legal right for cohabiting couples will not protect inheritance rights.
Last week the Law Commission published a consultation paper proposing to grant rights to live-in couples and homosexual couples who have " married" in civil partnerships.
Your guide to beating the 'death tax' traps
The Mail on Sunday – 05/11/06
The inheritance tax debate
From writing a will to gifting your wealth to loved ones,
there are plenty of ways to stay out of the IHT net ...
And many are already taking action
No will? there is still an easy way
Mirror – 01/11/06
Have you put off making a will because you don't own enough. Or you imagine your spouse will get everything anyway?
You wouldn't be alone. 2 in 3 people have not bothered
with a last testament - but they're making a big mistake.
Inheritance tax now affects us all...
The Sunday Telegraph – 22/10/06
Inheritance tax now affects us all In the second of our
series on tax, we look at one of the most unfair: IHT or the Revenue's right to grab a share of the wealth you have
built up over a lifetime. And it is the rich who are best
at circumventing it
With the possible exception of council tax, inheritance tax generates the most heated responses from the public.
This is because it is inherently unfair.
Warning to families as Scots shun making will
Evening Times Online – 02/10/06
THOUSANDS of Scottish families are facing financial chaos because so few people make a will before they die.
A survey by the Scottish Consumer Council reveals almost two-thirds of people don't do so.
Dormant bank accounts could go to charity
FT.com – 16/09/06
Hundreds of millions of pounds in high street bank accounts that have lain dormant for 10 years or more could be passed to charity under plans being drawn up by the Treasury.
After months of negotiations with the financial services industry, the Treasury is believed to be close to an agreement that would re-direct unused money to the voluntary sector.
Family seek return of the prodigal waiter to claim £1 million legacy
Times Online – 31/07/06
AN ITALIAN who left Sardinia 20 years ago to start a new life in Britain as a waiter has been left a legacy that would make him a millionaire — but lawyers cannot find him to tell him the news.
Angelo Giuseppe Piroddi, who would now be 46, left his home village of Barisardo in the province of Ogliastra, on the eastern coast of Sardinia, as a young man to seek his fortune in Britain.
All is not lost if you mislay your papers
FT.com – 14/07/06
If you’ve ever moved house and haven’t managed to keep track of information on your financial dealings you could be one of the thousands of people who have money in forgotten accounts.
As much as £15bn is thought to be languishing in forgotten and unclaimed accounts around the UK.
Inheritance threat to live-in couples
Manchester Evening News – 05/06/06
Legal experts are warning that the proposed legal right for cohabiting couples will not protect inheritance rights.
Last week the Law Commission published a consultation paper proposing to grant rights to live-in couples and homosexual couples who have " married" in civil partnerships.
No plans on dormant bank accounts
BBC News – 05/06/06
The Isle of Man government still has no plans to raise money from dormant bank accounts, the Treasury Minister says.
Last year, UK Chancellor Gordon Brown announced plans to release unclaimed cash from bank and building societies to pay for community facilities.
Where there's a will, there's peace of mind
IC Wales – 31/05/06
The hectic pace of modern life makes it all too easy for us to focus on the needs of the moment and neglect planning for our belongings after we are gone. Claire Johnson, takes a closer look at how we can manage our financial affairs even after death.
Be strong willed and start to think about the future
Cambridge News – 23/05/06
Article on the consequences of not leaving a will and advice concerning this years budget.
Dying isn't something that most of us choose to think about all that often. It's hard enough trying to get through today (Tuesday, 23 May) without imagining what might happen in the distant future.
Loyal servant's family windfall
BBC News – 22/05/06
A hunt has been launched for the descendants of an Edinburgh servant who have been offered a share of a £5m fortune.
James Cullen Colquhoun served in the prominent Dundas household in the 1800s before travelling with his master's son to Canada.
Robert Dundas secured a valuable collection of North American Indian artefacts which are to be auctioned.
The family now wants the faithful servant's family to profit.
When there isn't a will, there won't be a way
Telegraph – 15/04/06
Dying without sorting out assets can cause real grief, says Alison Steed.
More than a million people may need to revisit their wills after changes to trust legislation announced in the Budget. Yet millions more have failed to even write a will, despite the havoc this can cause when they die.
Treasury under pressure on trusts
BBC News – 06/04/06
The Treasury has come under pressure to drop plans announced in the Budget to change the taxation of trusts.
An alliance of professional bodies such as the Law Societies and the institutes of Chartered Accountants has called for the changes to be postponed.
Institutes unite on trusts
Financial Director – 05/04/06
Representatives of several professions join up to call for delays to trust moves announced in the Budget.
An alliance of major institutes across several professions has united to call for a delay in the government clampdown on trusts.
How to cut your inheritance tax liability
IC Liverpool Daily Post – 03/04/06
Work out if IHT is likely to be an issue by adding up the value of all your savings, investments, property and personal possessions. If the total comes to more than £275,000 (£285,000 for the 2006-2007 tax year), then IHT will apply at the rate of 40%.
Artful dodgers
The Guardian – 28/01/06
Charlie Hill begins by shattering my illusions. "Jules Verne did it first," he says. "In Captain Nemo's ward room he had all these stolen masterpieces.