Wills & Probate

Whilst we deal with our bank accounts, property etc in our wills, the repeated question is what happens to our online accounts and assets upon our death? These accounts and assets can include our Paypal accounts, online gambling accounts, Facebook posts and pictures, iTunes and Kindle books. In the Digital Death Survey 2015, 75% of […]

Often when dealing with will or beneficiary disputes we hear claims of the deceased, in their final days, telling their family and friends what they want them to have when they die, even if this contradicts their will or the intestacy rules. If someone is or believes themselves to be close to death they may […]

Recent headlines of the rich and famous (reportedly Bruce Willis) taking on Apple in the fight to be able to leave digital assets to loved ones on death certainly makes for good reading but just what is someone’s right to pass on digital assets on their death? There is currently no statutory provision or case […]

Digital assets, and how they are dealt with upon death, is becoming an important  issue for many people. We are regularly asked how iTunes accounts, Kindle books, Facebook, online bank accounts, Paypal accounts etc are dealt with upon death. Many of these accounts are password protected and our families and executors need to be aware […]

Following the Tory election victory in May, Chancellor George Osborne announced his intention to introduce changes to the inheritance tax rules. Currently, each person can leave £325,000 free of inheritance tax (the ‘nil rate band’) and therefore a married couple (or civil partners) can pass on a total of £650,000 between them free of inheritance tax. […]

The Court of Appeal made a landmark ruling yesterday in relation to a claim against a Will made by a daughter of the deceased. The case involved a Will of Malita Jackson who had died in 2004 leaving her estate to be split between The Blue Cross, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds […]

The Care Act 2014 comes into play in two parts.  From April 2015 Local Authorities were under a duty to assess people for their overall wellbeing, to see if they require any help with daily living. The much heralded financial changes come into force in April 2016 with the “cap on care costs” seen to […]

Plan, Talk, Live is the theme of the Dying Matters Week organised by the charity Dying Matters to take place between the 18 and 24 May 2015. The aim of the week is to have the population talk about death and planning for later life both of which are such taboo subjects. Local events are […]

With just hours to go until the General Election, the voting public will be weighing up a whole range of issues before deciding which party to vote for. One particular issue that is likely to play its part is inheritance tax. Inheritance tax, or death duty as it is commonly known, applies (broadly speaking) when […]

The law relating to people who are missing and presumed dead has been improved but now the Ministry of Justice have announced assistance for the relatives of missing people to take charge of the financial affairs of the missing person. The aim of the new law is to ensure that once found, a missing person […]

Blacks Solicitors LLP are proud to be one of the latest businesses to join the Leeds Dementia Action Alliance. There are an estimated 800,000 people living with dementia in the UK with over 8400 living in Leeds. This figure is set to increase to 12,000 within the next few years. People often mistake dementia as […]

In a recent piece in the BH&HPA journal we explained the importance of succession planning to include making a Will and considering the need to obtain a Power of Attorney. As part of planning for the future it is also important to consider how, if you or your partner needed to live in a care […]