recent blog posts

HMRC tax investigations have been ratcheted up since the end of the Covid-19 support from central government. This comes as no surprise as the Treasury are driving HMRC to reduce the tax gap or what is fast becoming the tax…

A combination of rising house prices hampering first time buyers plus the threat or fear of care home fees has seen many parents transfer their main residence to their children or contemplating the act. Prima facie, this may seem a…

How many times have you planned to do something but in the final analysis there was no action to follow through? The club of good intentions has an ever-growing membership. In fact, there are over 20 million parents in the…

How to pass on wealth to the next generation. There are many ways to reduce or eliminate the inheritance tax payable on your estate without using trusts. But for some, especially if you are very wealthy, they may not be enough….

As the problems of the pandemic continue, there has been a huge rise in the number of people searching online for instructions on writing their own Will. With difficulties in visiting professional will writers’ offices, it can be tempting to…

Following someone’s death, their personal representative will wind up the estate and then prepare estate accounts. These accounts will include details of all the assets and liabilities in the estate. When you make a Will, you will appoint someone to…

When something is given away, but the person making the gift still retains the use of it, it is known as a gift with reservation of benefit (GROB). A GROB commonly occurs when parents give their property to their children…

Your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is an important document. It gives your chosen attorney the power to deal with your affairs on your behalf, should you lose the capacity to do so yourself. But is it a good idea…

Financial services firm Canada Life says that 59 per cent of adults in the UK have not made a Will. This means that some 31 million people have not chosen who to leave their estate to. Who doesn’t have a…

There has been much focus on Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs) recently, especially as they are important for those who have lost capacity and require people they trust to manage their affairs.  There has been less talk about LPAs for…

Astonishingly, 55% of UK adults do not have a Will. This means that over half of the population has not safeguarded their future wishes. Without a Will, you will not have a choice about what happens to your estate when…

A Lasting Power of Attorney or LPA is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your wishes should you become unable to make financial or health decisions for yourself. But, all too often people fail to make an…

If you have a child with a disability, planning for their future is vital. While it is understandably difficult to imagine a time when you won’t be around to care for your child, you will want to ensure that they…

Having a Will in place is essential if you want to have the final say in what happens to your business and personal assets after you die. If you die without a Will, everything you own – including business and…

There has been much focus on Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs) recently, especially as they are important for those who have lost capacity and require people they trust to manage their affairs.  There has been less talk about LPAs for…

Many people like to leave a gift to charity in their Will by way of a legacy which not only benefits the charity but also has tax benefits for the donor. When an estate is valued at greater than £325,000…

Although not a pleasant thought, when planning for the future it is not just the financials that need to discuss.  If you have children, what happens to them if the worst should happen should be considered, such as who will…

When it comes to protecting vulnerable individuals it is important that people obtain the right advice. There are a range of options, with tax and inheritance implications where the right guidance can ensure vulnerable individuals are both protected and provided…

Under UK law, a will-maker must sign the will in the presence of two witnesses, over the age of 18, who then must also sign the will to state they have witnessed the event. The two witnesses to the signing…

Bereavement is an extremely difficult time but during such uncertainty when services have been significantly reduced, these feelings can exacerbate. Rest assured that Marcus Bishop Associates’ probate services are still continuing despite social distancing measures. Probate is a vital legal…