As of September 2020, the Wills Act 1837 will be amended to allow the two Will witnesses to be virtually or physically present.

It’s no secret - the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has posed several challenges to almost every aspect of our lives. The Wills and probate industry is no exception.

The number of gifts left to charities in Wills each year is set to increase from 120,000 to 200,000 by 2045, reaching a value of £10 billion. This is due to various factors including increases in deaths, more individuals leaving behind Wills and a higher proportion of people leaving gifts in their Will, according to a report by Legacy Foresight.

Recent research highlights the increasing likelihood of disputes over inheritance. According to Direct Line Life Insurance, 12.6 million British adults would be prepared to dispute a Will and go to court if they disagreed with the division of their relative’s estate. On average, 22% of UK residents would contest a loved one’s Will, 13% would be willing to contest their parent’s Will, and 11% would contest their partner’s Will*.

On Monday 14th October the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland, announced that the proposal to dramatically increase probate fees will be withdrawn after months of awaiting parliamentary approval.

A recent report by the Taxpayers’ Alliance projects that the government will receive £5.35 billion in Inheritance Tax from grieving relatives in the 2019 to 2020 tax year. This is the highest amount of Inheritance Tax ever collected in by the government and it’s predicted to keep growing.

At a Conservative conference fringe event organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Taxpayers’ Alliance, Chancellor Sajid Javid hinted that he could cut Inheritance Tax. After being asked whether he would scrap the tax, Sajid Javid shared how he understood arguments against the tax and suggested that he’s considering changes.

The latest family and household figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the number of cohabiting couple families continues to grow. Between 2008 to 2018, there has been a 25.8% increase in families of this type. Cohabiting couple families are even growing faster than married couple and lone parent families.

As of Monday 14th October 2019, the proposal to increase probate fees has been withdrawn. Click here to read our latest blog post on the matter. On 22 July 2019, HM Courts & Tribunals Service released revised probate fees including costs for applications and additional copies of the Grant of Representation. Although the cost of the application has not changed, any additional copies will now be charged at £1.50 per copy, rather than the 50p that was previously charged.