Back to Basics
Back to Basics: Heritage assets
Sarah Murphy examines the inheritance tax implications of historic estates and national treasures
Back to Basics: Online Court of Protection applications
Emma Tante explains how to use the Court of Protection’s online system
Back to Basics: Trusts buying properties
Katy Withers and Erin Abul examine the growing trend of trusts acquiring property, and the advantages and disadvantages that this brings
Back to Basics: Fluctuating capacity
Tim Bennett explains what you need to know about fluctuating capacity, and offers a range of different practical scenarios where capacity is flucuating
Back to Basics: Power reserved executors
Helen Stewart explains what you need to know about power reserved executors
Back to Basics: NHS continuing healthcare eligibility
Cate Searle looks at what you need to know about eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare
Back to Basics: Health and welfare LPAs vs advance decisions
Paula Shea looks at advance care planning, the various options and how to prepare clients for life-threatening or life-sustaining situations.
Back to Basics: Estate planning for blended families
Charlotte Coyle and Lilly Whale look at what to consider when advising blended families
Back to Basics: Inheritance tax and partially exempt estates
Lesley King explains how to get the calculations right for inheritance tax due on partially exempt estates
Back to Basics: Duties of an executor
Sarah Murphy recaps the basics on executors’ duties
Back to Basics: Liabilities in estate administration
Lesley King looks at the rules governing payment of debts and liabilities during the administration of estates, including a number of example scenarios and relevant case law.
Back to Basics: How to manage cryptocurrencies
Leigh Sagar explains the basics of cryptocurrencies, and how to deal with them in an estate administration
Back to basics: Wills, trusts and care home fees
Fiona Heald reviews the basics on wills, estate planning and the problem of care home fees.
Back to basics: European cross-border estates
Álvaro Aznar Azcárate and Nicole Gallop Mildon present a series of questions and answers for English solicitors dealing with estate administrations in France, Spain, Italy and Portugal
Back to basics: Business LPAs
A business lasting power of attorney enables a business owner to authorise an attorney to make decisions concerning their business interests when they are unavailable or lack capacity. Craig Ward reviews the basics
Back to basics: Nil-rate band discretionary trusts
Lesley King looks at the matters to consider when dealing with an estate where the will creates a nil-rate band discretionary trust
Back to Basics: Residence and domicile
Jo Summers goes back to basics on residence and domicile
Back to basics: Trusts for disabled and vulnerable people
Philip Warford looks at trusts for disabled and vulnerable people
Back to basics: Welfare deputyships
Sheree Green reviews the basics on welfare deputyships, and looks at why so few have been appointed
Back to basics: Drafting wills for overseas jurisdictions
Daniel Harris recaps the main legal issues affecting the writing of wills to cover cross-border assets
Back to basics: Deeds of variation and disclaimers
Deeds of variation and disclaimers can prove useful tools to redirect dispositions in a will. Angharad Lynn reviews the basics
Back to basics: Working with farming accountants
Julie Butler and Fred Butler offer advice on the farm ownership structure and providing for strong succession planning.
Back to Basics: Investment bonds
Kevin Read BSc, ACA, looks at investment bonds
Back to Basics: Annual tax compliance in probate cases
Simon Leney and Jane Hodge look at final lifetime income and capital gains tax returns and estate returns
Back to Basics: Funding of care fees
Melinda Giles and Fiona Heald outline the three main ways government will assist with care fees for a person going into care – through the local authority; NHS continuing healthcare; and section 117 funding – and explain when it is possible to claim, how to claim, and what is and ...
Back to Basics: Drafting LPA clauses
Craig Ward looks at how to draft clauses in lasting powers of attorney, including the importance of clarifying client instructions, being aware of current case law, and drafting with a practical outlook
Back to Basics: Administering trusts
In this Back to Basics, Simon Leney identifies some of the building blocks that are needed to do this work effectively. The article is in three parts: the take-on of a newly established trust, the take-on of an existing trust, and the conduct of a trust
Back to Basics: Authorised payments for CoP deputies
Those in control of the finances of an incapacitated person may be an attorney by a registered power of attorney or a deputy under the Court of Protection. As such, the authority that they hold in terms of the payments that they are authorised to make differs. Melinda Giles set ...
Back to Basics: Lifetime gifts
Lifetime gifts are made for a number of reasons, two of the most common being generosity and a wish to save inheritance tax. Lesley King looks at the matters to consider in order for the gift to be valid.
Back to Basics: Managing stocks and shares as part of an estate
Practitioners face a number of issues when dealing with an estate that contains portfolios of stocks and shares. It’s important to have a good understanding of how you can help clients plan before death, and deal with shares as part of the administration of an estate after death. Christopher Ekisson ...
Back to Basics: Finalising a tax liability
It’s become increasingly difficult to finalise an individual’s tax liability under the UK tax system. Lisa Vanderheide and Karmjit Mader provide a guide
Back to basics: Trusts of land
Andrew Skelly discusses the law relating to trusts of land, the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, and the implications of the recent case of Bagum v Hafiz and Hai on the court’s powers to order sale of land from one joint owner to another.
Back to Basics: Inheritance tax relief on farmland
Julie Butler looks at farm taxation issues, including business property relief, agricultural property relief, furnished holiday lets and farming wills and partnership agreements
Back to basics: Residence and domicile
Jo Summers explains how to assess client’s residence and domicile status – and the impact this can have on will-drafting and succession issues – and examines the new EU certificates of succession
Back to Basics: Stamp duty land tax
Marlon Appleton provides a practical and detailed guide to SDLT for private client practitioners, as it relates to companies and gifting property, gifting between spouses, trustees, and options to purchase in wills
Back to basics 35: Deprivation of liberty
Adam Boukraa looks at how the system in place to authorise deprivations of liberty under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 works
Back to basics 34: Nil-rate band trusts
Simon Leney and Pippa Ward outline what NRB trusts are, how they are currently used, what the proposed changes to the regime are, and what this means for private client practitioners
Back to basics 32: Ins and outs of trust corporations
In recent years, trust corporations have gained in popularity within law firms. However, they remain somewhat a mystery to the general public and, indeed, to many practitioners. Holly Miéville-Hawkins dispels the myth of trust corporations and casts a light on their applicability in many types of practice
Back to basics 31: Family home-sharing
Timothy Gibbons considers the legal positions of inter-generational home-sharers, to identify the possible dangers and disadvantages of home-sharing, the extent to which these issues can be overcome by professional advice, and the value of various kinds of legal arrangement
Back to basics 30: Tax reliefs
Sima Pankhania and Richard Mannion consider the various tax and investment reliefs available to private clients in managing their personal tax liabilities. In particular, the taxes covered here are income tax, capital gains tax (CGT) and inheritance tax (IHT).