Blog

The Five Steps of Probate

Dealing with the death of a family member or close friend is always difficult for those involved; the last thing anyone wants to deal with when grieving is navigating complicated tax and legal procedures. It is no wonder that the probate process can appear a daunting prospect to the personal representatives or 'PRs' (the people entitled to deal with a deceased person's estate, who are also known as 'executors' when they are appointed in a Will). We provide a helpful guide to the probate process, which can be broken down into five key steps.

Business Asset Disposal Relief - A Summary

Governments recognise that encouraging people to start businesses and employ others is important for the economy, and that any charge to tax on disposal should be mitigated to recognise the years of work involved in building a business, and the financial risk that people take in doing so.

Why is a family investment company a good way to pass on wealth?

In the past, if people wanted to pass wealth to their children (often prompted by the prospect of ultimately paying inheritance tax if they did not) they would use trusts, because then they could keep the assets under their control.

How to protect the "bank of mum and dad" when your child is cohabitating

I have recently provided my daughter with funds to buy a flat in her own name and she wants her boyfriend to move in. Could he have a legal or financial claim on the property if they split?

Seven Tips for Keeping Your Marriage Happy

As Partner and Head of Family at Forsters, and having worked with hundreds of divorcing couples in the past 20 years, Jo Edwards shares her insight into where many marriages go wrong and tips on how to keep yours happy. This article was originally published in Brides magazine.

An introduction to philanthropy – from vision to reality

This briefing provides an introduction to family philanthropy, outlining the key issues that need to be considered in order to ensure a successful charitable project.

Is there space in the stack for a SPAC?

Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have been around for a while and although they may have “historically been viewed as a bit shady” (Axios correspondent Felix Salmon), 2020 seemed to have been (at least for them) a good year, with SPACs (particularly in the US) being increasingly used as a means for established private companies to access capital markets and go public.

Forfeiture Moratorium on UK Commercial Leases and restrictions on CRAR extended to 30 June 2021

The government has announced that the measures which were put in place last year to assist commercial tenants during the Covid-19 pandemic will be extended, once again, to 30 June 2021.

The effect of the latest announcement is as follows:

Changes to the Planning Use Classes

Following the recent introduction of significant new planning legislation, our Planning team have outlined a useful guide to the new use class system and a guide to new permitted development rights.

UK restriction of DAC6 Regulations following Brexit – good news for 2021

The start of 2021 has had its ups and downs. However, the New Year brought some welcome news for lawyers, accountants and other professionals in the UK working on cross-border transactions and other arrangements, and for their clients.