Articles

The role of executors is to deal with the administration of an estate. This can be overwhelming for the people appointed as they may not taken on this role before and they have to get to grips with someone else’s affairs at a time when they are also grieving the loss of a loved one.

We recently came across the case of a 27 year old with no health concerns who is more prepared for death than most in later life. She has planned her funeral and decided what she would like to happen to her belongings and set up a digital account to share all her personal and financial information with her family.

If that’s the plan here are some top tips to help you out

Most importantly make sure you get your finances in order, if you are taking out a mortgage make sure you have a mortgage in principle agreed. It’s always best to do a rough calculation of fees you will encounter to ensure you have sufficient funds.

On the 6th April 2022 a new law is due to come into effect which will remove the need for divorcing couples to apportion blame in order to obtain a divorce.

The current position is that in order to obtain a divorce you must use one of five reasons to prove to the court that your marriage has irretrievably broken down. The five facts that may be stated are unreasonable behaviour, adultery, five years separation, two years separation with consent or desertion.

The Covid-19 Pandemic and resulting Lockdown has meant that we have all had to change our arrangements to keep in touch with family members since the “Staying At Home” announcement by the Prime Minister on 23^rd March 2020

Many separated families found this particularly challenging as they tried to maintain stability for children and minimise the anxieties we have all had about keeping within the rules and staying safe whilst taking into account everyone’s varying attitudes to risk.

When separated couples divorce, before they can reach a legally binding agreement about the resolution of financial issues or when a court application is made for financial orders, they both have to provide details of their pensions.

This is a specialist area and we recommend that you seek the advice of an experienced family lawyer and independent financial adviser before making an application to the court or signing an agreement.