by johnireland | Legal Spotlight
Two 2025/2026 High Court cases — Stephenson v Daley and Bowerman v Bowerman — confirm that waiting too long to challenge a Will can be fatal to the claim, even where the underlying argument might otherwise have some merit. In Stephenson v Daley, sons who challenged...
by johnireland | Legal Spotlight
A Deed of Variation lets the beneficiaries of an estate agree, within two years of death, to redirect some or all of an inheritance to someone else, such as grandchildren or a charity. For Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax purposes, the change is read back to the...
by johnireland | Legal Spotlight
Estates used to be found in a filing cabinet. A great deal of the modern estate exists only as a login, protected by security designed to keep everyone out — including the Executor who is legally entitled to deal with it. Digital assets fall into four groups. Things...
by johnireland | Legal Spotlight
Councils can treat a gift or property transfer as “deprivation of assets” if they decide it was done deliberately to avoid care fees. There is no fixed time limit: a council must show you knew you would need care at the time, and that avoiding fees was a...
by johnireland | Legal Spotlight
A valid Will can still be challenged. Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, spouses, civil partners, former spouses who haven’t remarried, children, stepchildren, dependants, and cohabitees of two years or more can claim the Will...
by johnireland | Legal Spotlight
Amended money laundering regulations changed the Trust Registration Service rules on 30 June 2026. Some non-UK trusts with UK links are now caught for the first time, while genuinely low-risk trusts get new easements. Because it cuts both ways, every trust needs...
