Sideways Disinheritance: How Your Estate Could End Up in the Wrong Family

by johnireland | Articles

Sideways disinheritance is the term used when assets intended for one family end up passing to another — typically when a surviving spouse remarries or enters a new relationship after the first spouse’s death. It is one of the most common and most devastating...

TLDR — What Happens to Your Will If You Remarry

by johnireland | Estate Planning Essentials

Most people do not know this: in England and Wales, marriage automatically revokes your Will. The moment you say “I do,” your existing Will is treated as though it never existed — unless it specifically says it was made in contemplation of that particular...

What Happens to Your Will If You Remarry — The Inheritance Trap That Catches Thousands of Families Every Year

by johnireland | Articles

Every year, thousands of families across England and Wales discover a legal rule that most people have never heard of: marriage automatically revokes your Will. It does not matter how recently you wrote it. It does not matter how carefully it was drafted. The moment...

Taper Relief Explained — How the Seven-Year Gifting Rule Really Works and Where Most Families Go Wrong

by johnireland | Articles

The Seven-Year Rule Is Not What Most People Think Ask most people how inheritance tax works on lifetime gifts, and they will tell you something along these lines: give money away, survive seven years, and it is tax-free. That is broadly correct — but the detail...

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason — Ancient Wealth Principles That Still Protect Families Today

by johnireland | Articles

A 100-Year-Old Book That Still Outperforms Most Modern Financial Advice George S. Clason published The Richest Man in Babylon in 1926 — exactly one hundred years ago this year. Set in ancient Babylon, the book uses parables to teach principles of wealth creation and...