Wills news

Many people approaching retirement may be unwittingly naming an ex-spouse or ex-partner as their pension beneficiary upon their death. According to a Royal London study, out-of-date paperwork may put current partners at risk of missing out.

If you have a large estate, or own more than one property, your family may lose a sizeable chunk of your legacy to inheritance tax. A financial adviser can help you minimise this loss – but how do they go about it? Alistair Fraser of Cockburn Lucas explains how he helped one client in this situation.

Does it look as if your estate is large enough to be subject to inheritance tax? If you take action soon enough, you may find you have the power to change that. Marcus Dodds, Financial Planning Consultant at Armstrong Watson, explains how.

If you’ve made a will, well done. But the job’s not quite finished yet. Many people don’t realise that wills don’t cover pension pots – so you need to make separate arrangements. Chartered Financial Planner Carl Roberts explains.

One of life’s biggest decisions is what happens at the very end of it – and it’s the one we least like to talk about. But with burial and cremation costs not only rising but subject to a postcode lottery, planning here has never been more important.

Nearly a third of people over the age of 55 still don’t have a will, according to recent research. Many people are also still unaware of the numerous problems associated with dying intestate. Are the Baby Boomers risking their families’ inheritance unnecessarily?

If you become unable to manage your own affairs, perhaps through illness, accident or simply old age, who will manage them for you? And will your family even be able to access your money? At any age or stage of life, it’s worth setting up Lasting Power of Attorney. If you forget to make a

To mark TaxAction 2016 we tackle the maze of inheritance tax, and explain why it’s one of the biggest reasons to make your wishes legally binding. Is inheritance tax (IHT) still a thing? Yes, very much so. You may have heard the recent rumours of its death, in light of the government announcing a new ‘family

Ever worked out the cash cost of simple laziness? You could be frittering away a sizeable chunk of your income every year just by not taking a few simple steps. Here are some of the best reasons why you should wake up and smell the money. Off the top of your head, how much interest does your savings

We can’t predict what will happen after we die – but we can prepare for it. Unforeseen circumstances can lead to families being effectively disinherited, or at least having to wait much longer than expected for their inheritance. You can remove this area of uncertainty quite simply, by setting up a trust. Even though most