The Wealth Lawyer
Cryptocurrency estate planning: lessons from QuadrigaCX
12 April 2019In a plot line worthy of a Dan Brown novel, the 30 year old CEO and founder of QuadrigaCX, Gerald Cotton, was reported as having died in India at the end of last year, seemingly having taken the passwords to the company’s cold storage wallets with him to his grave.
Read moreOut of time Inheritance Act claims: lessons from the Sargeant case
1 February 2018Mrs Mary Sargeant’s case is a classic example of why advisers of bereaved widow(er)s are ideally placed to help their clients consider whether sufficient provision has been made for them under their deceased spouse’s Will. The problem, as Mrs Sargeant found out, is that this is sometimes not obvious even a number of months after […]
Read moreA new look for The Wealth Lawyer UK
26 October 2017We’ve given our Private Wealth blog, written by partner Helena Luckhurst and team, a refresh! Discover bite sized legal briefings on the UK wealth structuring, asset protection and tax issues affecting your HNW clients, every fortnight. And now you can register to receive briefings by email.
Read moreLegal 500 ranks Fladgate’s private client team
26 October 2017Fladgate LLP is delighted that its private client team has been ranked for ‘personal tax, trusts and probate’ in the recently launched 2017 edition of the Legal 500 Guide to the UK Legal Profession. Editorial states: Matthew Bennett heads the department at Fladgate LLP, and advises UK and foreign nationals and their families on the […]
Read moreProtecting personal representatives: interim estate distributions
18 May 2017How should a personal representative (PR) deal with a request from a beneficiary for an interim distribution before the estate is finalised? Estates can take many months to conclude but a beneficiary may be in need of some of their inheritance sooner. Can an executor help out without putting him or herself on the line? Any PR (be […]
Read moreHow to manage UK probate fee increases
9 March 2017Currently most applications made by solicitors for a UK grant of representation for a deceased’s estate incur a flat fee of £155 payable to the Probate Registry. However, perhaps within a little over two months’ time, a grant could cost as much as £20,000! How did we get here and, more importantly, what can be […]
Read moreProbate fee increases: a death tax by any other name?
25 February 2016Probate fees do not, on the whole, cause much consternation. After someone dies, an application to the Probate Registry is often needed to obtain a grant – proof acceptable to English financial institutions that they can safely pay over the deceased’s assets to the personal representatives (PRs) named on the grant. This exercise, one of […]
Read moreExecutors: it’s time to turn detective or risk a penalty
28 January 2016An essential part of any executor’s job is to work out the assets and liabilities of the estate that they are administering. An executor also owes a statutory duty to HMRC to correctly report the value of the estate to it so that, if any Inheritance Tax is due on the estate, the right amount […]
Read moreDo I have to accept an executorship?
27 March 2014A good friend (or client) of yours has sadly passed away and has named you as an executor of his Will. What do you do now? Must you act? It is always flattering to be trusted with such a responsible role. In some respects, you may feel morally obligated to act. However, it is always […]
Read moreIHT related penalties: a warning for PRs and beneficiaries
5 February 2014The recent case of Hutchings v HMRC [2015] UKFTT 0009 (TC) will be of interest to anyone acting as executor/administrator of an estate and anyone who is a beneficiary. Like the sword of Damocles, HMRC was dangling a tax penalty of £87,000 over the heads of both the executors and one of the beneficiaries – […]
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