News & Legal Updates

A deceased’s Will sets out how that individual wishes their estate to be passed on in their death and in what shares. At some point in your life, you may find yourself becoming a beneficiary in the Will of a friend or family member’s estate, whether it be to the extent of a cash legacy or a share of the residue. Depending on your personal circumstances, you may already be in a position where you are financially comfortable and would not greatly benefit from the inheritance; perhaps the money left for you would actually detrimentally affect your inheritance tax position in terms of your own succession planning. You may have children, grandchildren or close family/friends who you feel would better benefit from the money than you would...

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected many people’s income and this, in turn, can impact the level of child maintenance a parent is due to pay or receive. Child maintenance is normally paid by either private arrangement (normally by a written or verbal agreement) or by way of a Child Maintenance Service (CMS) assessment.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, everyone has had to adapt and so it is not surprising that guardianship application practices have also had to evolve to take account of the widespread restrictions. During the first national lockdown, our Courts closed and guardianship applications ground to a sudden halt. To ensure vulnerable adults wouldn’t be left … Continue reading "Updated Guardianship Practices During COVID-19: The Way Forward?"

There are various ways to gift that can reduce an inheritance tax (IHT) liability on death. Some are outright exemptions and others require to be claimed as part of the executry administration process. We always encourage our clients to keep accurate records of any gifting they undertake. By doing so, it will assist the administration … Continue reading "Six lesser known IHT allowances"

Peace of mind insurance? Is this a new insurable risk that lawyers have found an answer to? No. But this is what a Power of Attorney could be considered to be. I often say to clients that a Power of Attorney is ‘like peace of mind insurance’ so I thought that it would be interesting … Continue reading "Blackadders, now offering peace of mind insurance…"

What are they? Legal Rights are a peculiarity of Scots Law designed to protect against the disinheritance of certain relatives regardless of what you have written in your Will. Whilst many of our clients have heard of legal rights it is fair to say that most are surprised to hear that what they have written … Continue reading "The intricacies of Legal Rights: 5 points to be mindful of"

Many parents are trying to balance the guidance from the Government to socially distance and stay at home as much as possible with also wanting to comply with a court order or agreement relating to the care and contact arrangements for their children. The Government guidance, at the time of writing, is that parents who … Continue reading "Covid-19: Update for parents who share care of their children"

One of my favourite films in 2019 was Knives Out, the whodunit starring Daniel Craig as the American south’s answer to Poirot.  It features my new favourite “Reading of the Will” scene.  You know the ones:  the scenes where the deceased person’s lawyer reads out the provisions of the Will in front of the assembled … Continue reading "Overturning a Will: “Knives Out” for disappointed beneficiaries?"

I’m pretty sure the last thing you would expect to happen on a hot summer’s day in a pub is receiving a phone call that will kick-start your legal career sooner than expected. This happened to me and, unknown to me at the time, it was a phone call that would benefit me in more … Continue reading "How being a Legal Intern has helped me"

For many, graduating from University is a long-awaited milestone. Having secured my traineeship, with Blackadders LLP, two years in advance I graduated with over a year to ‘spare’ before starting my traineeship. For the past eleven months, I have been lucky enough to work as a receptionist at Blackadders who I am going to train … Continue reading "Why law graduates should work in a firm pre traineeship …"