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 moreIHT relief and holiday homes: has the tide turned?
6 September 2018Confidence in claiming Inheritance Tax (IHT) Business Property Relief (BPR) in relation to holiday homes has been at a low ebb in recent years, following a string of cases that have ultimately gone against the taxpayer. However, in the recent case of Graham v HMRC ([2018] UKFTT 0306 (TC)), the taxpayer was victorious. Has this […]
Read moreDomicile dramas
26 July 2018Many advisers have to grapple with the sometimes difficult question of establishing their client’s domicile. A client’s domicile is fundamentally important in a diverse range of English legal and tax areas, such as whether: a client can bring divorce proceedings in the UK; a client is liable to UK Inheritance Tax on worldwide assets as […]
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 moreThe best Christmas present for your family: a discretionary trust?
30 November 2017It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas out there, as Bing says. Thoughts turn to what gifts to give our family. When it comes to making big gifts to family members, though, in lifetime or on death, still not enough people think of using a trust. Many people hardly know what a trust is; […]
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 moreCan you disinherit your children if you want to?
20 September 2017You may recall that, a couple of years ago, the English press was full of reports of the Will case of Ilott v Mitson. (For some background on the case, see my 2015 and 2017 blogs about it.) The case was of interest to any testator who is considering cutting out children from their Will. […]
Read moreIlott v Mitson Supreme Court decision: UK testamentary freedom reasserted
23 March 2017Last week, the Supreme Court brought to an end a 13 year legal battle over the late Mrs Jackson’s Will. The Will left virtually all of Mrs Jackson’s assets (some £480,000) to three UK charities, cutting out entirely her only child (Mrs Ilott), who was for many years estranged from her mother but who lived […]
Read more‘Toxic’ survivorship clauses: does your Will contain one?
12 January 2017Do you have a survivorship clause in your Will? Chances are you do, if you leave assets to someone outright in your Will. The mischief that these clauses are designed to avoid is this. If A gives a gift to B in his Will and B dies the day after A, B’s estate will get […]
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