Private Client
Will-writing clients increasingly interested in add-on services
Consumers are increasingly interested in add-on services to will-writing, such as funeral plans, and are also more open to online delivery of those services, new research has found.
Powers of attorney to lead the way in strong wills and probate market
Powers of attorney and “other guardianship advice” will lead the way as the wills and probate market continues to expand over the next few years, a report has predicted.
Solicitor who certified LPAs “as a favour” is fined £6,000
A criminal defence solicitor who said he certified two lasting powers of attorney “as a favour” for an elderly client has been fined £6,000 for failing to make the necessary checks.
Three key areas where trustees should question their financial adviser
To help aid informed questioning, here are three key areas where trustees can consider questioning their financial adviser or asset manager, in relation to an investment recommendation for trust monies.
Modernising lasting powers of attorney: change is coming
In 2007, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 introduced Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) which for the first time allowed a donor to appoint an attorney to make decisions both about their property and financial affairs, but also about their health and welfare.
Estate planning “agitator” aims to disrupt sector
A new membership body for estate planning firms aims to disrupt the sector by providing a home for regulated and unregulated firms ranging from law firms and accountants to will writers and genealogists.
Fine for partner who failed to detail work on client files
A partner who billed for her time ‘considering’ matters but did not detail in attendance notes what she had actually done has been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Will invalidated after solicitor failed to check “delusional” client’s capacity
The High Court has invalidated a will prepared by a solicitor who was aware of the client’s “paranoid delusions” but did not investigate whether they affected his testamentary capacity.
Accountancy body can finally exit legal services regulation
The Legal Services Board has granted permission for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to formally pull out of probate regulation, having refused it in January.
Electronic signatures instead of witnesses for LPAs stay on the table
The government has refused to rule out replacing the witnessing of lasting powers of attorney with electronic signatures despite widespread opposition in a consultation.
Blog
The new metrics for success in conveyancing
While technology has made much of the conveyancing process faster, there remains a practical limit to how many matters anyone can manage while still keeping standards intact.
The UK legal market is polarising – and the middle is disappearing
Consolidation and the boutique boom are not contradictory. They are the same market stretching apart at both ends – and it changes what your firm is worth, and to whom.
Conveyancing’s consistency problem is about pressure, not skills
When I qualified, a conveyancer had perhaps 10 or 12 plates to keep spinning. Today’s conveyancers have 20 or 30, and almost none of the room for error I had starting out.
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