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You may well have heard of the government’s ‘Tell Us Once’ service, which is a way of, as the name suggests, informing one government department of a person’s death and that department notifies chosen government bodies; for example, HMRC or the DWP.  The advantage of this is that only one telephone call or online form needs to be submitted following a death (as far as government departments are concerned).  It is a straightforward process and next of kin or an executor of an estate can ensure government departments are notified in an efficient manner and it...

As a Solicitor specialising in the area of Private Client law, one question I am frequently asked by someone appointed as an executor of an estate is, “do I need a grant of probate?”    A grant of probate is a government-issued document allowing executor(s) appointed in a will to deal with the administration of the estate and collect estate assets.  Where there is no will, letters of administration can be issued to relatives entitled to inherit under the intestacy rules.  Both of these types of documents come under the heading of “grants of representa...

Dawn Pennell of Capron & Helliwell solicitors, considers the recent Supreme Court decision in the case of Owens In July 2017 I wrote about the Court of Appeal decision in this case and wondered whether permission would be sought to take the argument to the Supreme Court.  Well, more than a year on, the Supreme Court has considered it and on 25th July handed down its much anticipated judgement. Mr and Mrs Owens married in 1978, separated in early 2015 and have two adult children.  Mrs Owens wished to get divorced basing her Divorce Petition on her husband having behaved in su...

Dawn Pennell, Associate at Capron & Helliwell solicitors, considers second relationshipsIn a feedback questionnaire a client said “stop me from ever getting married again”.  Although the comment was made in a humorous way there are steps which may be taken and ways of dealing with such situations which could minimise difficulties which may be encountered.  Divorce statistics suggest that over 40% of first, over 50% of second and over 70% of third marriages end in divorce which can be painful and stressful. A pre-nuptial agreement may not seem the most romantic way...