On 29 November 2024, the House of Commons voted in favour of assisted dying. A historic decision. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill applies to the England and Wales only. It was brought by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater. On the passage of the Bill, MPs, including government ministers, had a free vote. The […]
Author: ashtongrace
What the Autumn Budget means for Estate Planning
On 30 October 2024, Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered the Labour party’s first Budget in 14 years and what a Budget it was! From an estate planning perspective, there were several seismic announcements that will likely result in far more estates having to pay inheritance tax when the proposed changes come into effect. […]
CMA guidance: Will writing, online divorce and pre-paid probate services
In July 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigated concerns arising from unregulated services in the Will writing, online divorce and pre-paid probate legal services industry. The investigation followed complaints that consumers were potentially exposed to risks such as: In April 2024, following consultation earlier in the year, the draft form of the CMA’s […]
Cryptocurrency legally recognised in Digital Assets bill
Globally, there has been a rapid increase in the development of, and interest in, digital assets. ‘Digital assets’ is a very general term that can be applied to a host of things including email accounts, digital files, digital records, crypto assets, non-fungible tokens (digital art) and carbon credits etc. So it’s hugely important that on […]
3 Money Saving Moves you can make before the Budget
Are you feeling jittery in the run up to the budget on 30th October (which arguably wasn’t helped by the speeches at the labour party conference this week)? You are not alone. It is widely expected that there will be changes to inheritance tax (IHT), capital gains tax (CGT), pensiong jittery in the run up […]
Pass on something wonderful!
This week (9-15 September) is Remember a Charity week! The week is all about championing the power of making a charitable gift in your Will, after you have taken care of family and friends. We’ve experienced many clients make their Wills and include gifts to wide ranging charities; from animal welfare and protection, to wildlife […]
Social Care Cap Scrapped
On 29 July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the government’s decision to cancel the cap on social care costs and social care reform. In fairness, there has been a 25 year history of postponing plans to reform social care. In more recent times, the former Conservative government had committed to introducing a cap on […]