When contesting a Will time limits can be strict. For example, you must contest the Will within 6 months of probate. But what happens if there is a coroner’s inquest into a person’s death?  Does this coroner’s inquest affect probate?

How does a coroner decide to do an inquest?

It is common for deaths to be reported to a coroner. The role of the coroner is to establish why, when and how a person has died, and they may decide that an inquest into the death is needed to establish these facts. Some of the reasons people report deaths include:

• Unknown cause of death
• Violent or unnatural cause of death
• The death was sudden and unexplained
• The deceased wasn’t seen by a medical practitioner during their final illness
• There is no medical certificate available

There may be many reasons where a coroner decides to or must hold an inquest into a person’s death. Some of these include: after a post-mortem, the cause of death is still unknown, the person possibly died a violent or unnatural death, or the person died in prison or police custody

How does a coroner’s inquest affect probate?

Once the coroner receives report of a death, they produce a death certificate. If a coroner decides that there needs to be an inquest into the death, then they delay the death certificate until the inquest has reached it’s conclusion. However, once the post-mortem has taken place, the coroner can release the body for the funeral and issue an interim death certificate, which confirms the identity of the person who has died.

While the Executor is waiting for the final death certificate, they can use the interim death certificate to notify banks and other organisations of the death. They can also use this to apply for the Grant of Representation. This means that the Probate process can begin even though the death has not yet been registered and the final death certificate has not been issued.

This means that, even when a coroner has begun an inquest, the process of probate may have started. So the time limit to contesting the Will may have already begun. It is important to know when the process of probate starts. This is because this could be key to starting a claim to contest probate.

How We Can Help

Here at The Inheritance Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with all manner of inheritance claims. This includes contesting Wills and contesting probate. Contact us today by filling in our contact form, or by calling us on 01614138763 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

There has been an increase in younger people making Wills during the pandemic. The average age of Will makers at the start of 2020 was 58, and the Gazette has now reported that the average age of people making Wills is now 47.

A recent study showed that millennials are also considering their own lifetime planning needs, making more financial plans than the older generation, and there is now a younger generation that have a better understanding and attitude about being prepared for the future and the benefits of a making a Will at a younger age. 

Before the pandemic, less than half of UK adults had made a Will. This has since risen during COVID-19, with a rise in enquiries concerning making a Will of 75% since the start of the pandemic. The Financial Times reported in March that some law firms saw enquiries double in the first few weeks of lockdown.

This is no surprise as the worry of losing a loved one has been at the front of many minds during the pandemic. Many people may have also thought about making sure they care for their loved ones should something happen to them. Thus leading more people to think about making a Will.

The Importance of Younger People Making Wills

A Will is a document that allows you to leave money, possessions, or assets to certain people after your death. These people are known as beneficiaries. You can also leave gifts to charities in your Will, and you can include funeral wishes in your Will. Therefore, making a Will is important to ensure your wishes are followed.

There are three types of Will you can make. These are:

• Single

• Mirror

• Trust

Making A Will to Protect Children

If you have children under the age of 18, then making a Will allows you to name who you would like to look after them when you die. This person will also be responsible for their finances and education. For children over the age of 18, making a Will can ensure that they get the maximum benefit of their inheritance. Additionally, you can choose when they receive their inheritance and how much they get.

In a case where you have stepchildren, or children from a previous relationship, then naming them in your Will can also ensure that they are correctly provided for. The children must be named correctly in your Will, because, if you die without a Will, then they may not receive anything.

If Someone Dies Without Making A Will

In England or Wales, if someone dies without making a valid Will, then the law decides who gets what. If you have no living relatives, then all your property, money and possessions go to the Crown. Also, if you have children under 18, then other people can make decisions about who will take care of them and manage their finances, education and living arrangements until they turn 18.

Younger People Making Wills: How We Can Help

Here at The Inheritance Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with all manner of inheritance claims. Contact us by filling in our contact form or by calling us on 01614138763 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

One of the most important aspects of a Will is the executor. The executor is responsible for handling your affairs when you die. Their role is important as they have to distribute your estate according to the wishes of your Will.

The role of the executor is to handle your estate when you die. They have many responsibilities. These responsibilities include:

• Paying all your outstanding debts
• Notifying banks and utility providers about your death
• Closing all your accounts
• Pay inheritance tax
• Collating your possessions
• Contacting beneficiaries
• Distributing your estate

The executor also has to apply for the Grant of Probate before they can do all this. This is to ensure that they have the legal right to do all of the above.

Appointing an Executor

In England and Wales you can appoint anyone you want as an executor. People generally choose family members, friends, solicitors or accountants. When someone dies, it can be a distressing time and emotions can be heightened. This can be a disadvantage of having a family member or friend as an executor. An advantage of choosing a family member or friend is that you can have someone close to you fill out your wishes with more of a personal touch.

There are benefits of using a professional such as a solicitor as your executor. Some of the benefits include: it can reduce family disputes that can arise in inheritance cases, they can diffuse tension between beneficiaries, they have expert advice and knowledge of inheritance cases, and they can deal with paperwork without it impacting them emotionally.

Executor Disputes

If you are concerned that the executor of an estate is not acting correctly, contact The Inheritance Experts. We work with leading solicitors who specialise in handling executor disputes to resolve issues swiftly and fairly.

An Executor has a duty to carry out the wishes of the Testator fairly and without prejudice. Yet there are still instances of appointing an Administrator when there is no will. Accordingly, that administrator is still responsible for legally paying creditors and distributing assets of an estate to the rightful beneficiaries.

There are also times when Executors and Administrators allow their interests to interfere with their legal obligations. For instance, they may:

• Display prejudice against a rightful heir, or;
• Handle the estate in a lazy, inept or otherwise corrupt manner.

In contrast, we provide legal advice and guidance to concerned parties. Because it’s our intention to resolve disputes without going to court where possible. Talk to The Inheritance Experts today if you believe an Executor or Administrator is acting in a biased or fraudulent manner.

How We Can Help

Here at The Inheritance Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience in all manner of inheritance cases. This includes executor services and disputes. Contact us today by filling in our contact form or by calling us on 01614138763 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

A common question we get at The Inheritance Experts is ‘can I contest a Will if the person lived abroad?’ The short answer to this is, yes, it is possible. Contesting a Will abroad is possible under certain circumstances. Some of the main circumstances include where the person made their Will, where they lived, and where their estate is.

Contesting a Will of Someone who Lived Abroad

Many people like to move abroad in their retirement. This means that they may not live in the UK when they die. This can be important when contesting a Will, because you may have to go through several countries laws to contest it.

If the estate of the person who died is in the UK, then that puts you in a better position. This is because the Will is only bound by UK law in this case.

The main aspect that the courts take into account when the person lives abroad is their country of domicile. If the person who dies has property in the UK but have relocated to another country, then the Will would take into account the estate in the UK. Therefore that is where the person will be domiciled. This means that you can still contest their Will here in the UK.

For example, if a will is made and, regardless of domicile, The Wills Act 1963 has been complied with, it may be possible to apply English law. This may occur in instances when a person made a will while they were living in England and Wales and can demonstrate a suitably close connection to the country.  If this can’t be proven, then it is likely that the law applicable will be the law of the country in which the deceased was domiciled. 

However, if you are dealing with an Estate that is not in England or Wales, you’ll need to investigate the process in the country in question and go through that country’s specific requirements. If there are assets in more than one country, known as a ‘cross-border Estate’, you’ll need to take extra care. This is because there can be a lot of legal difficulties

Contesting A Will If you Live Abroad

We also commonly get asked if you can contest a Will if you live abroad. The answer to this is also yes. If the person’s Will you are contesting lived in the UK, but you do not, that is perfectly fine. This is because the Will you are contesting only has to go through UK law.

If you live abroad then contacting us is exactly the same. As long as their address was in the UK, then it is the same process.

How We Can Help

Here at The Inheritance Experts, we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with all manner of inheritance claims. This includes contesting Wills. Contact us today by filling in our contact form. Or call us on 01614138763 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

The world is an ever-changing place. In the past couple of decades, this is truer than ever, with the rise in popularity of the digital world. But did you know that you can leave digital assets in your Will?

Digital assets can be a way for your loved ones to remember you when you have passed away, through your online documents and social media presence. You can choose who to leave access to these to.

A survey commissioned by the Law Society found that 93% of those who have a will have not included any digital assets in it. Meanwhile, just a quarter of the 1,000 respondents knew what will happen to their digital assets after they die – with only 7% saying they fully understand.

This is why it is important that you fully understand all the assets you may have, including digital ones.

What Counts as a Digital Asset?

Digital assets include all of your online investments. Examples include:

• Online accounts such as PayPal
• Email accounts
• Social media accounts
• Blogs or websites in your name
• Credit on sites such as points or vouchers
• Virtual currency such as Bitcoin
• Anything stored online such as Dropbox or the cloud
• Virtual objects you own such as ebooks

With the rise in paperless statements digital assets will only get bigger and more documents will move online, so making sure you include these in your Will is important.

Why Are They Important?

With the growth of technology, more documents will undoubtedly move to a more online format, so naturally these assets will become more important as time goes on. As emails have become more widely used, there may be important documents that are stored in your emails, so someone would need access to your account to see the important documents.

They are also important in the process of probate. The first step of probate is your Executor valuing your estate. If your digital assets are not included, then they may not get an accurate value of your estate to give to your beneficiaries.

What Can you Do?

As your digital assets make up part of your estate, you should make a note of these when thinking about writing your Will. This can be anything from writing down all your accounts and passwords, to noting any accounts you have online which you may have accumulated points for.

Once you have done this, you can then decide if you would like to leave them to anyone in your Will. Due to the online world evolving, your solicitor can also help update your Will if you add or change any of these assets.

Contesting A Will Based on Digital Assets

If your Will is contested on the basis of digital assets and they are not recorded anywhere, then it may not be possible for your loved ones to receive everything you wished them to. This is another reason that adding them is important.

If you are contesting a Will based on the digital assets and you do not know where to turn for advice, then we may be able to help. The solicitors we work with have years of experience dealing with contesting Wills, and so may be able to assist you.

How We Can Help

Here at The Inheritance Experts we work with solicitors who deal with all manner of inheritance cases. This includes cases involving Will writing, updating, and assets. Contact us today by filling in our contact form, or by calling us on to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

Many people choose to leave a gift to a charity in their Will. They choose to leave money to charities that have affected themselves or a loved one for the most part, or local causes that they feel passionate about.

Gifts to a charity in a Will (also known as charitable legacies) are usually exempt from Inheritance Tax. To qualify for this tax exemption, a charity must have a Charity Reference Number from HM Revenue & Customs. Furthermore, if you leave more that 10% of your total estate to charity, then your overall Inheritance Tax amount will reduce from 40% to 36%.

Gifts in Wills

There are three types of gifts that can be left to charity in your Will. These are:

• Residuary gifts- a share or percentage of an estate after all other payments have been made.
• Pecuniary gifts- a specific sum of money.
• Specific gifts- a particular item or items.

Furthermore, you can leave anything you own to charity, including property, land, shares, money, or a specific possession. There is also no limit to the amount you can leave to charity or the number of charities you can leave a gift to. It is important to think carefully about what gifts you would like to leave to charity, as you may have specific requests that you may need to discuss with the charity.

The Impact of Charity Gifts in Wills

According to Co-Op, around 13% of all charity income in the UK comes from legacies. Further to this, they have also stated that they have seen a rise in charitable donations in Wills made during lockdown.

Cancer charities are amongst the most donated to charities in Wills, followed by local charities. Cancer Research UK state that without legacy gifts, they would not have made progress in their research. They also state that a third of their donations come from legacy donations.

The organisation Remember A Charity state that currently, 6% of people leave a gift to charity in their Will. They aim to help people realise the potential that leaving gifts to charity in their Wills has and ensure the essential work of charities lives on for future generations. They estimate that if 10% of people left gifts to charity in their Wills, then it could generate another £1 billion each year.

How to Leave A Gift to Charity

It is easy to leave a gift to charity in your Will. Firstly, you need to choose a charity. You must then make a note of the charity name, address, and registered charity number. There is a website called the Charity Commission that you can use to find the details of the charity.

After you have chosen your charity and made a note of all their details, all you have to do is contact your solicitor or Will writer to provide them with the details of your chosen charity.

Here at The Inheritance Experts, we know how important it is for people to get their Will in correct order. If you are looking for advice on Wills, contact us today by filling in our contact form, or by calling us on 01614138763 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.