Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
Making a Will is something that many people put off. However, it is important to take steps now to ensure that your family will be protected should the unthinkable happen.
As I wrote in my article on 26 November 2018, the Scottish Government provided a useful update at the end of last year regarding their plans for Succession Law Reform. That update removed some of the uncertainty that has existed for the past few years but still left a number of issues unresolved. To make further progress, the Scottish Government recently released a Consultation on the Law of Succession, focussed on what should happen if someone dies intestate (without a Will).
According to David Thorpe of the FT Advisor, it seems a lot of people are missing out on an important tax break when it comes to inheriting a deceased spouse’s Isa accounts:-
When a family member or friend is temporarily short of money, your instinct might be to step in and lend them the funds they need. In many cases, the amount of cash involved will not be significant to you, and as a result would not warrant committing the arrangement to writing.
Appointing Executors under a Will is not always a simple task. Often, people find themselves pre-empting the merging personalities of those to whom they are considering giving the important role. “Will they get on?” “Will they understand my true intentions?” Questions posed raise food for thought.
