A funeral director in the northwest of London has said that more people in the area are now choosing a basic funeral, as dying has become much more expensive in the capital.

Research conducted by Durham University shows that many people are now choosing natural or woodland burials, with the trend being most popular in Britain.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) has, this week, agreed new guidelines with the British Bankers Association (BBA) and the Law Society of England and Wales that will reduce administrative obstacles for both families and professionals in probate-related dealings with banks.

The Social Security Agency has launched a new "one-call" bereavement service to help surviving relatives check if they are entitled to benefits, including help to cover funeral expenses, the BBC reported recently.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has started a final consultation, proposing that Will writing and estate administration, along with extraction of the Grant of Probate, should be added to the list of reserved activities in the legal sector in England and Wales.

The short answer is, yes. Executors are legally responsible for dealing with the deceased’s estate. This typically involves applying for a Grant of Probate, administering the estate and distributing the assets to those persons entitled.

A growing number of older people die in isolation in Wales, with no relatives beside them and no one but the local authorities to make end-of-life arrangements, data seen by Wales Online shows.

The Sun Life Direct ninth annual Total Cost of Dying Report 2012 was released last week. As well as looking at general trends in the cost of dying, this year's survey entitled “Death shouldn’t mean debt; responsibility, choice and selflessness” looked at what motivates people to plan and make decisions for their funeral.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) this month published a discussion paper outlining how it would evaluate the impact of key changes in the legal services market, such as the new business model (issuing of ABS licences), on access to justice. The organisation proposed a set of eight measures to monitor access to justice for individual consumers, making wide use of previous research and approaching areas where it has scarce information, such as the impact of technology on the legal market.