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.

Bath is one of the ten most expensive places in the UK to be cremated in, according to a report into soaring funeral costs.

We recently came across an article on Money Observer which discussed the possible reasons behind why the number of will disputes has been steadily rising over the past few years – information we at Kings Court Trust are of course very interested in.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) will soon step into the role of license issuer for alternative business structures (ABSs) that provide probate services, Legal Future reports. The UK Parliament approved the order allowing ICAEW to assume the role in late July.

As an industry, we do struggle to get the right message across with regards to appointing the right executors. Quite often we are aware that acting as an executor for the lay person could be time consuming and perplexing even for the most capable of people. We also know there can be immense risks in tax liability and distribution liabilities if the executor gets it wrong, not to mention the risk of deliberate mishandling.