No fault divorce is finally due to come into force

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 due to come into force in April 2022 is set to revolutionise the way in which couples can dissolve their marriage with the long overdue introduction of no-fault divorce in England and Wales.

As the law currently stands, one spouse has to initiate the process of filing for divorce and, within that process, make accusations about the conduct of the other spouse — such as unreasonable behaviour, adultery or desertion — or otherwise face up to five years of separation before a divorce can be granted. Even where a couple has made a mutual decision to separate, and both parties agree to getting divorced, absent proof of one of the three prescribed fault-based reasons as set out under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the couple must still be separated for a period of two years before the marriage can be legally dissolved.

However, under the proposed new system, couples looking to move on with their lives more quickly will no longer need to become embroiled in a blame game following the breakdown of their marriage. Specifically, the new Act is set to replace the existing requirement by one party to evidence either poor conduct or a prolonged period of separation with a non-fault process. Instead, either or both parties can apply for a divorce by simply filing a statement that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. That statement will then be treated by the court as conclusive evidence that the marriage has indeed broken down and an order must be made.

Crucially, a minimum timeframe of 6 months from the initial application stage to the granting of a final order will also be created under the Act. This will give couples the time to reflect and reconsider, or where reconciliation is not possible, the opportunity to agree important arrangements for the future, such as how best to look after their children.

The proposed new Act is not designed to undermine the institution of marriage, hence the mandatory period of reflection, rather the rationale behind these reforms is that where divorce is inevitable, the law should not exacerbate conflict or harm a child’s upbringing. The provisions are intended to stop separating couples having to make unnecessary allegations against one another, and instead help them concentrate on resolving their issues amicably. By sparing couples the need to play the “blame game”, these changes will remove the antagonism that this creates so families can better move on with their lives.

Starting a divorce can be a very stressful time for all those involved, where the additional stress of having to attribute blame does not assist the situation, especially if the parties are doing their best to avoid any acrimony for the sake of their children. In some cases, the need to blame one another can often act as a catalyst for further fallout over care and access arrangements, as well as financial arrangements. The shift in the system from fault-based to no-fault divorce will finally mean that parties can, at the very least, deal with the dissolution of their marriage in a constructive and non-confrontational way.

 Legal disclaimer 

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.

Can a will be witnessed remotely?

In the wake of Covid-19, more and more people are putting in place a written will, where the pandemic has served as a stark reminder of our own mortality and the importance of planning ahead. Furthermore, in a world where self-isolation and social distancing measures remain a normal part of every day life, having a last will and testament witnessed remotely is, at least for now, a legalised and accepted practice.

Under the Wills Act 1837, for a will to be valid it must be in writing and signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses present at the same time. The witnesses are also required to sign the document in the testator’s presence. However, these rather inflexible requirements were preventing those who had tested positive for coronavirus, or were otherwise required to self-isolate, from executing a valid will.

As such, new legislation designed to combat these practical difficulties was rushed through Parliament by way of the Wills Act 1837 (Electronic Communications) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Order 2020 SI 2020/952. This specifically amended the provisions under the 1837 Act relating to signing and attestation of wills, where the meaning of “presence” for the purposes of “being in the presence of two or more witnesses” or “in the presence of the testator” includes presence by means of videoconference or other visual transmission.

The government has also advised that the use of video technology should only be used as a last resort. This is because the process of remote witnessing increases the possibility for fraud and abuse, where witnesses will simply be unable to tell if a third party is present, potentially coercing or forcing the testator to sign. The need to forward the signed will to the witnesses for their signatures also provides an opportunity for the will to be amended or substituted.

Admittedly, the previous system was by no means perfect, although the temporary new law may now see a spike in cases of undue influence or fraud following the deaths of those who have signed their will in this way. It certainly seems to be the right time for a more permanent solution to be put in place, one which provides flexibility if needed, while continuing to protect the elderly and vulnerable from those seeking to exploit any procedural loophole.

Legal disclaimer 

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.

Grizedale Arts Complete Farmer’s Arms Purchase

Thanks to an incredible fundraising campaign, Grizedale Arts have completed the purchase of The Farmer's Arms at Lowick Green, Ulverston with the help of BSG Solicitors.

Following the launch of an investor appeal in November 2020 the campaign attracted over £300k in offers in just 21 days. The project was further boosted by a social investment loan from the Architectural Heritage Fund, a significant contribution from Grizedale Arts’ own charity reserves and many small donations.

The property had been empty for over two years, but now has a bright future ahead with exciting plans to bring something for everyone in the community from pop-up shops to cookery and exhibition spaces.

Adam Sutherland, Director at Grizedale arts explained:

“There is a huge opportunity to develop a hybrid pub for the 21st Century. The traditional pub model is struggling but that’s not to say it should be abandoned, rather it just needs a bit of reinvention. Over the next year, The Farmer’s Arms will be transformed into a creative and industrious rural hub.

As well as a place where food, drink and a bed for the night can be found, The Farmer’s Arms of the future will become a thriving community supporting all sorts of opportunity and creativity. A volunteer programme for both locals and visitors will offer skills, training and social benefits, supporting the running of the project and informing its direction.”

Project Manager Emma Sumner said:

 “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to save an historic building and retain it as a community hub. The Crake Valley has many innovative rural businesses, alongside celebrated visitor attractions such as Brantwood and the Ruskin Museum, and The Farmer’s Arms could help in the area’s recovery period. Employment will be a key issue and we believe The Farmer’s Arms will act as a gateway to not only the wonders of the valley, but also the world of work and enterprise, innovation and diversification.”

Deborah Turner, Head of Commercial Property at BSG Solicitors acted for Grizedale Arts in the acquisition and added:

“The Farmer's Arms was once a much-loved local institution and to see it decay over the last couple of years has been heart breaking for many people. We are delighted to have been able to assist Grizedale Arts in purchasing this special building and look forward to seeing their plans develop over the coming months and years.”

The first phase of the project expected to be open by summer 2021.

Pictured Emma Sumner and Adam Sutherland, photos courtesy of Karen Guthrie.

The importance of putting in place a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)

The importance of putting in place a Lasting Power of Attorney cannot be underestimated, especially during the ongoing pandemic with the risk of any one of us or our loved ones becoming critically ill. Indeed, this has been the recent plight of television host, Kate Garraway, who has endured a prolonged period of her husband being hospitalised from coronavirus.

The fact that the distraught TV presenter has been unable to deal with any of the bills or bank accounts in her husband’s name has undoubtedly added to the enormous pressure that she has been under during this difficult time. In a recent interview, Kate Garraway admitted that many of the practical problems she had been forced to face over the past year could so easily have been prevented if she and her husband had given each other a Lasting Power of Attorney.

A Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA, is a legal document in which you can appoint someone to manage your property and financial affairs in the event that you lose the mental capacity to do so yourself, or even if you temporarily need assistance, for example, during a stay in hospital. It is a common assumption that a spouse or partner would be automatically entitled to handle such matters on one's behalf if the need ever arose, but this is simply not the case.

An LPA can also be used where important decisions about your health and welfare need to be made, from your day-to-day care to having a say about life-sustaining medical intervention.

For so many of us, the idea of becoming seriously ill or injured, such that we are no longer able to make our own decisions or manage our own affairs is beyond comprehension. Sadly, it can and does happen, not just through old age and infirmity but often as a result of unexpected illness or accident. We simply cannot predict what is round the corner.

Without an LPA, your loved ones would have to apply through the courts, for example, for the right to manage your finances, and even then their application may not necessarily be granted. When it comes to important decision-making about either your property and finances, or your health and welfare, an LPA will therefore significantly lessen the emotional and practical strain on relatives should you become incapacitated.

By seeking legal advice on how to put in place a Lasting Power of Attorney, you can feel reassured that important matters, such as money or medical decisions, can be easily dealt with in the event of illness or accident. Needless to say, the best time to do this is while you are fit and healthy. This will allow you to make a rational and dispassionate decision about who best to appoint and what you would like them to deal with. It will also ensure that no questions can be raised over the validity of your decision-making and the document itself.

Having registered a Lasting Power of Attorney with the Office of the Public Guardian well in advance of any critical situation, you can go on to live your life with the peace of mind that your future, and that of your family, has been properly safeguarded.

Legal disclaimer

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.

The digital dilemma of leaving online assets in your Will

When writing a Will, consideration must not only be given to any physical assets that you would want your loved ones to benefit from after you’re gone, but also any digital assets. This could include, for example, bitcoins or other forms of e-currency that you may have stored in virtual wallets. It could also include any unclaimed balance in your Paypal account from eBay sales or other selling platforms, or winnings in an online lottery or betting account.

Needless to say, the importance of leaving your executors a trail of breadcrumbs to enable them to access any password protected online investments or accounts, cannot be underestimated. In most cases, given the highly encrypted nature of virtual wallets or other types of digital assets, any failure to leave clear instructions will leave your loved ones locked out of your online fortune forever.  In some cases, your executors may not even be aware of the existence of any digital assets, let alone have the right information to access these. 

It’s therefore vital that you record within your Will or other document the nature of any digital assets that form part of your estate. It’s also important that you provide clear instructions as to where your digital assets are stored, for example, on either a USB or other portable storage device, or on some form of cloud type service, as well as how these can be accessed. 

That said, care must be taken so as not to compromise your online security, either during your lifetime or at any point prior to your executors being able to realise your digital assets. In particular, it’s worth noting that upon application for the grant of probate, your Last Will and Testament becomes a public document that anyone can apply to see. This means that important location and access information contained directly within your Will would severely compromise the security of any online investments or accounts.  

Clearly, therefore, there’s a fine line between providing a sufficient trail of breadcrumbs for your executors to identify and access any digital assets, and protecting those assets from hackers or untrustworthy hands. Still, this ‘digital dilemma’ should not prevent you from gifting these assets to your loved ones, provided you take appropriate measures to ensure any important information is not contained within the Will itself — but preferably within a securely stored and password protected separate document — and that any usernames and passwords are only accessible by those you trust implicitly.  

By seeking expert advice to ensure your digital assets remain secure during your lifetime but accessible upon death, you can feel confident that your loved ones will benefit fully from your digital endeavours after you’re gone — without the worry of losing your online fortune, however big or small, to fraudsters, or inadvertently locking those assets away for good. 

Your legal advisor can help you to find a suitable way of effectively documenting your digital assets within your Will and other related documentation, in this way providing your executors with the instructions they will need when you’re no longer around.  

Legal disclaimer 

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.

Back to basics under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954

When leasing commercial premises, understanding the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (“LTA") can be crucial for both landlords and tenants alike. The LTA essentially governs the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants of premises which are occupied for business purposes and offers important legal protections to both parties.

From the tenant's perspective, when leasing new premises, the future preservation and success of their business may hinge upon the 'security of tenure' provided for under the terms of their lease arrangement. Security of tenure refers to the tenant's right to remain in occupation of the business premises upon expiry of the lease term. As such, this is one of the most important basic rights for business tenants provided for by the LTA.

In broad terms, this means that the tenant has a statutory right to renew their tenancy, either on the same or similar terms, when their existing lease comes to an end. In addition, the tenancy will not automatically terminate on expiry of the current lease. Instead, it will continue on the same terms - otherwise known as the tenant 'holding over' - until it is renewed or formally brought to an end, for example, by written notice to quit from the tenant.

From the landlord's perspective, the LTA provides specific, albeit limited, grounds of opposition to the grant of a new tenancy that can be raised. These statutory grounds include where the tenant is in substantial breach of their contractual obligations, such as a failure to pay rent; where the landlord wants to let or sell the premises as a whole, and the tenant occupies only part of the premises; or where the landlord wants to redevelop the premises or occupy the property or land for the purposes of its own business or residence.

That said, even where a landlord is able to oppose the grant of a new tenancy successfully, they may still be liable to pay statutory compensation to the tenant where recovery of the commercial premises has been sought on a non-fault basis.

Accordingly, given the limited grounds upon which a landlord can object to the grant of a new tenancy and the potential exposure to pay compensation, the LTA also provides the parties with the ability to contract out of its statutory provisions before entering into a commercial lease. This may be, for example, where the landlord is only looking for a short-term let.

In these circumstances, where a tenant has effectively agreed to forfeit their security of tenure, they will lose their statutory right to renew their tenancy. Unless the landlord subsequently agrees to the grant of a new tenancy, it will determine on the expiry of the lease term. In this way, a landlord can regain possession of its property without justifying its actions by reference to specific tenant default or other non-fault grounds.

That said, the law governing security of tenure for business leases can be complex, not least when it comes to complying with the strict statutory procedures to be used by landlords and tenants of commercial premises in respect of requests, notices and statutory declarations.

In some cases, a failure to follow the correct procedure in the prescribed form can render the process void. By way of example, the net effect of a tenant failing to correctly make a statutory declaration agreeing to waive their right to renew their lease will result in them retaining their security of tenure, contrary to the intentions of the parties.

For detailed advice on the rights and responsibilities of commercial landlords and tenants, expert legal advice should always be sought from a commercial property specialist before entering into a new lease. In this way, your advisor can help to negotiate terms tailored to your specific needs and thereby protect your legal position moving forward.

Legal disclaimer

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such. 

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought. 

Protecting your business - the importance of having a Will

As a business owner whose energies are undoubtedly invested in the here and now, not least in trying to survive the current economic crisis caused by COVID-19, it is just as important for you to consider what would happen to your business should something happen to you.

The prospect of us dying is a sobering thought. Still, by putting in place suitable measures to ensure that your business can continue in your absence, or that adequate financial provision can be made for those you leave behind, you can provide yourself and your loved ones with much-needed peace of mind. By planning ahead for all eventualities, you will also instill confidence in those you work with and those that work for you.

The starting point for any astute business owner, whether as part of a wider succession planning strategy for a partnership or limited company, or simply to ensure the financial security of your family after you die, is ensuring that you have a valid Will in place.

In England and Wales, if a person dies without making a Will, the rules of intestacy come into play. These restrict the beneficiaries of the deceased’s estate to specified classes of relatives, in a set order of priority, but making no automatic provision for unmarried partners. As such, there is potential for this to have unwelcome ramifications in relation to the distribution of both the deceased’s personal and commercial assets, in some cases solely benefitting estranged family members. It can also create problems for any surviving business, often adding an extra layer of confusion, delay and uncertainty to an already difficult process.

Where a person dies intestate, the task of handling their affairs usually falls to the deceased’s next of kin. However, in most cases, the next of kin will still need to apply for a ‘Grant of Letters of Administration’. This is the official document issued by the Probate Registry providing the personal representative(s) with the authority to administer the deceased’s estate. If the deceased’s affairs are especially complex and high value, involving the payment of inheritance tax, this could take weeks or even months to obtain.

Additional delay can also arise where a search needs to be undertaken to clarify whether a Will has been made or in verifying who is a valid member of the class of beneficiaries entitled to apply to the court for the Grant of Representation. This could be, for example, where the deceased has no surviving spouse, children or parents, or where their relatives are not known.

If you add into this mix the absence of adequate succession planning provisions within any partnership agreement or the company’s Articles of Association, post-death business problems can quickly escalate. This issue was recently highlighted in the case of Williams & Ors v Russell Price Farm Services Ltd [2020] EWHC 1088 (Ch).

On its facts, the late Russell Price was the sole director and shareholder of a contract farming company. However, there was no provision in the Articles for the executors to appoint a new director in the event of his death, leaving the executors of his estate without the authority to do so themselves prior to the Grant of Probate. This left the company in a precarious position as there was no-one to pay the company’s creditors to enable it to trade. As a result, the executors were forced to make an urgent application to the High Court requesting that they be entered into the company’s register of members so that they could appoint a director.

Yet, with prior planning, these problems could have so easily been avoided for the relatives and personal representatives of Mr Price. By putting in place a written Will, together with any suitable succession planning measures, you can help to safeguard both the financial interests of your loved ones and the future of your business you have worked so hard to build.

Legal disclaimer

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.

Children’s Law Specialist Joins BSG Solicitors

BSG Solicitors welcomes Suzanne Willey to our family law department as Head of Children’s Law based at the Lancaster office.

Suzanne has over 17 years’ experience covering a wide range of matters including Care Proceedings, Private law Children cases and domestic abuse cases. Suzanne is a member of the Law Society’s Children Panel and a member of Resolution. She is also collaboratively law trained and can undertake collaborative meetings to establish flexible solutions to family matters.

Andie Brown, Partner and Head of Family Law commented:

“Suzanne brings with her a high level of expertise, which adds to our considerable experience in all aspects of family law. She shares our belief that wherever possible family issues should be dealt with in a non-confrontational friendly manner, keeping the interests of the children as the priority. I’m delighted to welcome her to the firm.”

Pictured L-R Suzanne and Andie.

The scope and effect of “subject to contract" negotiations

The term “subject to contract” is a well-known phrase in ordinary legal parlance and used daily by parties when seeking to compromise disputes. Still, in the recent case of Joanne Properties Ltd v Moneything Capital Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 154, the Court of Appeal was required to reassess the scope and effect of this commonly used phrase, and whether or not there can be a legally binding agreement where this qualification has been used during the course of negotiations.

On the facts of the case, Joanne Properties Ltd (the Appellant) borrowed money from Moneything Capital Ltd (the Respondent), secured by a legal charge over a property in Wandsworth. When the Appellant fell into arrears, it challenged the Respondent’s appointment of LPA receivers on the ground that both the loan agreement and charge had been procured by undue influence. The Appellant then applied to the court to set aside both the agreement and the charge, and claimed injunctive relief against the receivers preventing them from taking any steps to realise the security.

The parties were able to compromise the injunction application, agreeing that the property should be sold, with an order for distribution of the proceeds of sale. The issue on appeal was whether the parties had reached a further binding contract of compromise about how the ring-fenced sum of £140,000, after repayment of the sale costs and the loan capital, was to be shared between them.

In allowing the appeal, Lord Justice Lewison provided a useful review of the origins of the “subject to contract” formula and the reasons behind it. Put simply, the effect of these words mean that neither party intends to be legally bound unless and until a formal contract is executed, and that each party therefore reserves the right to withdraw from any proposed agreement until such time as a binding contract is made. This allows the parties to see at once whether there is a contract, or whether they are still in the negotiation stage. The court reminded itself that without this principle there would be a great deal of uncertainty in law in respect of those agreements that have been fully concluded and those that have not.

The court went on to acknowledge that even where negotiations have begun "subject to contract", the parties may waive this qualification, but only if they both expressly agree that it should be expunged or if such an agreement was to be necessarily implied. The mere fact that parties get close to a contract or are of one mind is not, in itself, sufficient to create a legally binding agreement. There must be either a formal contract in place, or a clear factual basis for inferring that the parties must have intended to waive the qualification. In the case before the court there was neither.

On its' facts, both the alleged offer and acceptance were each headed "subject to contract”, and the parties also plainly contemplated that a consent order would be needed in order to embody the compromise, just as the earlier settlement agreement had been embodied in a formal signed contract. All that had happened here was that correspondence had been exchanged, and even though there had been an agreement in principal, this was not enough to be enforceable.

Legal disclaimer

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.

Is a gift always a gift, or does it come with consequences?

When someone dies, a person's property and possessions, otherwise known as their estate, may become subject to inheritance tax (IHT). This is the tax payable on a deceased's estate where the value of that estate exceeds a certain threshold (currently referred to as the ‘nil rate band’) set by the government annually.  The current nil rate band is £325,000 and it is the value over this amount that is taxed at a flat rate of 40% unless there are any other reliefs that can be taken into account. 

By making lifetime gifts to loved ones, it may be possible to reduce the amount of inheritance tax payable on death, in this way maximising how much you can pass on to your friends and family after you die. However, to be effective, where there are no inheritance tax consequences arising from making a gift, it must meet certain strict criteria. 

In broad terms, gifts fall into three categories: exempt transfers, potentially exempt transfers (or PETs), and chargeable lifetime transfers (or CLTs).

 An exempt transfer is a gift that can be made at any time during your lifetime, whose value will be entirely ignored for the purposes of inheritance tax, even if you die shortly after making it. For example, this could include the £3,000 annual exemption that can be gifted to loved ones without this being added to the value of your estate. There are also various other low value exempt gifts that you can make without attracting any IHT. 

In contrast, potentially exempt transfers are gifts that will only become fully exempt from inheritance tax if you survive the date you made the gift by a period of 7 years. This is known as the 7-year rule.

If you die within the 7 year period, the value of the gift is effectively added back into the value of your estate.   If the gift itself is taxable because it exceeds your nil rate band, then taper relief can apply depending on how many years you have survived it.  If it is less than 3 years, however, the full value of the gift will be subject to inheritance tax at the flat rate of 40%. 

 For those gifts falling within the chargeable lifetime transfer category, these may attract an immediate tax charge, with an additional charge should you then die within 7 years of the gift being made.  A gift made into a discretionary trust would be treated as a chargeable transfer and can have a knock-on effect to past or future lifetime gifts if the value exceeds your nil rate band.  However, these trusts can still prove to be useful tools as part of your overall tax planning, especially where there are minor beneficiaries.

The rules relating to gifts and the inheritance tax consequences that can flow from this can be complex.If, for example, you sold your house to an adult child for less than it is worth, the difference in value will count as a gift and would be subject to the capital gains tax regime in your lifetime with a potential for inheritance tax to apply to the gift element of the transaction if you failed to survive 7 years.  

There are also a number of other potential tax traps, or financial catches, that can arise when making a gift during your lifetime, including the following:

• reservation of benefit: where you gift an asset but continue to derive a benefit from it, like giving away your house but continuing to live there, you may be treated as still owning it for inheritance tax purposes, even if the gift was made more than 7 years before your death;

• deprivation of assets: where you gift an asset but subsequently require nursing care, you may be treated as still owning that asset for the purpose of the financial assessment undertaken by the local authority to determine your contribution to the cost of your care;

• capital gains tax liability: where you gift certain assets, such as shares or a second home, this may be treated as a disposal for capital gains tax purposes, where you may be liable to an immediate charge to tax if the asset's value has increased since it was acquired. 

It is important to always seek specialist legal advice when gifting money or giving away assets during your lifetime for the purposes of avoiding inheritance tax after you die. This can require careful estate planning and expert knowledge of the law.

Legal disclaimer

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such.

 Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.