by johnireland | Articles
A generation ago, an Executor’s first task was to go through a filing cabinet. Bank statements, share certificates, insurance policies and title deeds were physical objects, and finding them was mostly a question of patience. Today a substantial part of the...
by johnireland | Articles
When did you last switch your phone off for two weeks and nobody noticed? If you can’t answer that question with a date in the last twelve months, you’re not alone. Most business owners we meet in Worthing and across West Sussex haven’t taken a...
by johnireland | Articles
Your Will can be perfectly legal and still end up in court. Most people assume that once a Will is signed and witnessed, that’s the end of the story. It isn’t. In England and Wales, a valid Will can still be challenged after death, either because someone...
by johnireland | Articles
A Record Year for Inheritance Tax — and for Enforcement Inheritance tax receipts reached a record of nearly £8.5 billion in the last tax year. What has received far less attention is how much of that money HMRC had to go and find. New figures show that investigations...
by johnireland | Articles
When the Law Decides for You If you die without a valid will in England or Wales, the law decides who inherits your estate. There is no discretion, no flexibility, and no room for what you might have wanted. A rigid set of rules — known as the intestacy rules —...
