Blogs
Thinking about what happens after you die is never easy, but putting it off can leave your family with uncertainty, delay and sometimes outcomes you would never have chosen. If...
It is increasingly common for people to have connections with more than one country. A person living in East Anglia may own a holiday home in France, Spain or Italy....
Business Relief (also referred to as Business Property Relief, or BPR) is an Inheritance Tax (IHT) relief that reduces the taxable value of qualifying business assets by either 100% or...
Making a Will is often a straightforward process. A person decides who they want to benefit from their estate, appoints trusted executors, and records those wishes in a legally valid...
When people think about making a Will, or dealing with an estate after someone has died, their minds often go straight to the obvious assets: the house, the bank accounts,...
Getting married or divorced is often treated as a family milestone, a financial turning point, or a fresh start. It is all of those things. But it can also have...
Many people think of trustees as those who manage large sums of money for big charities. However, trusteeship can happen in everyday family life. For instance, an adult child may...
While most people will be focusing on why you should make one, Sarah Lamb from Fraser Dawbarns, examines this from the other angle and highlights some reasons why you shouldn’t...
Last week the Law Commission of England and Wales published their recommendations on reforming and modernising the law on Wills. They hope that these updates, if adopted, will take account...
Perhaps surprisingly, only 26% of pet owners over the age of 30 seem to have considered, and made plans for, what will happen to their pets in the event of...
This Update Your Will Week (3 – 9 March 2025), we are joining The Association of Lifetime Lawyers to raise awareness around the importance of keeping Wills up to date....
All homeowners would be prudent to review their situation and in most cases to have an up-to-date Will to ensure that their property, and their possessions, are properly protected if...
A new short series has hit our screens on Netflix and the Fraser Dawbarns Dispute Resolution team couldn’t help but consider the many legal aspects that were highlighted. The plot...
Forced marriage is defined as where one or both people do not or cannot consent to the marriage. Many people might think that such a concept would not be relevant...
It is a common misconception that adult children are automatically entitled to part, if not all, of their parent’s estate on their parent’s death, assuming that the other parent has...
In the world of personal finance and estate planning, one often overlooked but significant relief is the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) uplift on death. This rule, currently part of UK...
What is a letter of wishes? A letter of wishes is a confidential document that expresses your personal wishes about how you would like things to be done after your...
“More than one” would be the advice of the Wills specialists at Fraser Dawbarns. Choosing your executors is an important part of making a Will. They will be responsible for...
Seema Solanki, a partner at Fraser Dawbarns Solicitors, and the current Chair of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Cambridge Committee was recently interviewed by the BBC about...
As a lawyer who specialises in Estate Administration, Sarah Lamb is given information in many different forms by family members when someone dies. Some still have paper copies of bills,...
The Finance Act 2008 introduced a major change to the way inheritance tax operates for married couples (or those in Civil Partnerships) in England and Wales. Although the change is...
It may be only after someone has passed away that you discover that their Will does not leave a reasonable financial provision for you, possibly leaving you facing real financial...
In difficult financial times it is understandable that people may decide to make their own Will without involving a qualified legal practitioner. ‘Will Packs’ are widely available at relatively low...
What happens if you die without making a Will? Although we are constantly encouraging and advising people to make Wills not everybody follows this advice. Therefore if you die without...