Insights

There are several changes to inheritance tax, which will need to be considered closely, but many aspects of the tax remain the same.    

The Law Society has recently published an article regarding the increase in will disputes, attributing it, at least in part, to the rise in the number of "DIY wills".

Digital assets can be left in a will, gifted or inherited, like any other asset such as property and money.

Mrs Hasan tried to continue proceedings against his estate but this was denied on the basis that the court decided that its power to order financial relief after an overseas divorce can only be exercised as between living parties to a former marriage.

After a five-year legal squabble, a jury in Michigan recently ruled that the handwritten will dated 2014 was valid and should override a 2010 will that was discovered around the same time in a locked cabinet at Franklin’s home in suburban Detroit.

Unclaimed estates, classed as ‘ownerless property’, occur when there is no will – or the beneficiaries of the will cannot be traced - and the next family member, following the rules of intestacy, cannot be found.

This case shows, once again, the importance of having a clear, executed will at all times to avoid costly and upsetting contentious probate.