In a paper published recently City watchdogs the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have proposed changing the way in which applications…

Most probate practitioners have come across clients who report the death of a relative, come to the office to collect the will and advise us that they can deal with the probate themselves. It is not uncommon for the same client to return a few months later looking harassed, carrying boxes of papers and correspondence, and very keen to hand the whole lot over and get someone else to do it for them.

There has been a great deal of press coverage of the sad case of Charlie Gard who was born with a very rare genetic disease causing progressive muscle weakness and brain damage. Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) advised his parents that there was no prospect of recovery and that his condition was terminal.

When my father died in the 1970s leaving a widow and three teenage children, my mother was entitled to a Widow’s Pension which was the equivalent to a State Pension and this was paid to her until she received the State Pension.

Following a challenge by a widower to the European Court of Human Rights, the Widow’s Pension was replaced by the Widowed Parent’s Allowance which was paid to mothers and fathers. A lump sum of £2,000 was also paid to bereaved spouses.

A very high number of people go missing each year in the UK. The figure is about 275,000. About one third of the missing are adults.

Most people who go missing reappear relatively quickly but some disappear for decades. It is estimated that there are currently around 20,000 people who have been missing for at least a year.

Apart from the distress and grief they suffer, there are a number of practical problems for those who are left behind.

If body has been found, then it is not possible to obtain a death certificate and make a claim on a life insurance policy.