by johnireland | Legal Spotlight
What Is Happening? On 5 June 2026, the Ministry of Justice published a consultation proposing that qualifying cohabitants should receive automatic inheritance rights under the intestacy rules in England and Wales. Currently, unmarried partners have no right to inherit...
by johnireland | Articles
The Consultation That Could Change Everything for Unmarried Couples On 5 June 2026, the Ministry of Justice published a consultation paper titled “A Fairer End to Relationships.” Buried within its pages is a proposal that could fundamentally change...
by johnireland | Estate Planning Essentials
Why Review Now? Tax thresholds are frozen until 2030-31. Business Property Relief is capped. Capital Gains Tax rates have risen. If your estate plan was written before the Autumn Budget 2024, it may contain assumptions that are no longer correct. A simple review of...
by johnireland | Articles
Why 2026 Is a Year for Reviewing, Not Just Filing Most people write their will and forget about it. They sign a Lasting Power of Attorney and put it in a drawer. Trusts are established and left to operate quietly in the background. This approach worked well enough in...
by johnireland | Tax Talk
What Has Changed? From 6 April 2026, the combined allowance for Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief is capped at £2.5 million per person. Above that figure, the relief drops from 100% to 50%, creating an effective inheritance tax rate of 20% on...
