With new Inheritance Tax (IHT) rules having been announced as part of the Government’s summer Budget, estate planning and the way in which assets are managed are in the news once again. IHT should be a prime consideration when planning how your estate is distributed and the recent rule changes are likely to lead to a number of people re-thinking their Wills should their estates be effected.

Barclays are being sued for hundreds of thousands of pounds by a woman who claims the bank’s Will writing service resulted in her losing a stake in her late father’s London home. Although the bank is contesting the reports, Telegraph Money have revealed that when the complaint was assessed by the Financial Ombudsman Service, the bank was found at fault so the complaint has been progressed to the High Court.

We appreciate that Wills are a personal and highly delicate matter, and not something to become subject to tabloid gossip. However, the Wills of numerous people – from the rich and famous to ordinary members of the public – are now available via the public record and have been subject to public scrutiny and intense interest. The Wills of the rich and famous, including Diana, Princess of Wales, Alan Turing and Winston Churchill, as well as the complicated Wills of ordinary members of the public can all be viewed by the general public.

The majority of people know that they should have a Will, but a lot of people don’t know exactly what a Will is and how it works. The actual process of writing a Will is a relatively straightforward and inexpensive one. Yet despite this, the majority of people in the UK die without a Will in place.

We’re sure you were as equally shocked as we were to hear about this case today. Stuart Herd’s widowed father, William, remarried at 67. His son Stuart was delighted as he’d feared his father would live out the rest of his days alone, after the death of his wife, Freda, in 1986.

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.