Following sustained and increasingly vocal lobbying from customers and consumer groups, a number of leading UK banks have increased the amount of money that can be released from deceased customer accounts to their grieving families without first having to apply for probate, This Is Money reports.

The way in which we ‘consume’ services has changed considerably in the last decade or so. Many retail experts confidently argue that our expectations of service providers are now at an all-time high, with customers demanding access to a wide range of professionally delivered services every time they make a purchase. Does this theory apply to helping bereaved families as well?

Kings Court Trust firmly believes in the benefits of having a professional help draft a Will to ensure that everybody’s final wishes are made clear and carried out accurately. Drafting a Will and carefully considering what is to happen to our finances is not the most cheery of topics, but one that should be taken very seriously.

An interesting article in The Telegraph recently discussed new legislation which will potentially give Britons with a European holiday home more freedom in terms of how these assets are recorded in their Will.

Each May, the Dying Matters coalition runs its annual awareness week (www.dyingmatters.org/YODO) to raise the public’s understanding of why planning for the end of your life is so important. There are a huge number of events and online activities taking place throughout the week which are designed to get the public talking about death – which is seemingly still one of the most taboo subjects to discuss!

The nature of estate and legacy planning is changing in the modern world at a fairly rapid pace. With new technology, changing economic circumstances and a shifting legal landscape, we've noticed that individuals are having to come up with ever more inventive ways of efficiently managing their estate and inheritance.