Coping with the death of someone close to you is undoubtedly a stressful experience. Not understanding what to do after a death, or in what order, can bring an extra burden to the grievance process. This is especially true if it is the first time you have had to deal with a death. Below is some useful and practical information about the initial steps to take following a death.

Sometimes we get some really unusual cases here at Kings Court Trust; the outcome is sometimes a complete surprise to us. For example, what happens in the event of a will being destroyed?

Kings Court Trust (KCT) partnered with the Jockey Club to host their bi-annual Seminars this October at Haydock Park Racecourse and Warwick Racecourse.

Inheritance tax has been in the news a fair amount recently – we've been trying to keep up with the most recent developments as best we can – but the latest piece of news comes from David Cameron ahead of the general election next May, with the Prime Minister announcing that although he is aiming to increase the threshold for inheritance tax, it may take some time for a new policy to come into play.

Here at KCT when browsing the news lately we came across a rather alarming piece in The Telegraph, stating that middle-aged people will unfortunately not be able to rely on a windfall inheritance to aid any financial woes, as they will be retired by the time any money comes through. It seems that the age at which British adults tend to receive inheritance money is heading into the 60's, with experts predicting that it spells the demise of "traditional inheritance."

As reported only yesterday by BBC News, recent changes to inheritance laws are encouraging more adults to make a will or update their existing one. The changes are the first significant ones to effect the Rules of Intestacy since they came into effect in 1925, and now declare that if a person dies without leaving a will and they are in a civil partnership or married, without children or other descendants, then their partner will receive 100% of the estate.

At KCT we were particularly interested to read recently that various heritage objects, including works of art, have been received by the government in lieu of heritage tax, according to an article on The Telegraph. More than £100 million worth of items were received over a five-year period.

Recent changes to the legal profession have meant that certain activities in the industry are currently being reviewed for deregulation, the Solicitors Journal notes – something we are very interested in keeping up-to-date with. Probate has since become the latest activity to be deregulated; according to a statutory instrument issued in parliament this August, chartered accountants are now allowed to undertake probate if they have passed the required exams, are properly licensed and it is not a contentious case.

We were very happy to discover recently that Legacy Foresight figures showed its members received a combined income of £1.16 billion in the 12 months leading to June of this year, Third Sector reports. Legacy Foresight are analysts of the legacy and in-memoriam sectors and gather data from 67 charities.