Just under two years after the threat of huge probate fee increases were dropped, they are back on the horizon. Instead of a flat fee of £215 for personal applications and £155 for solicitor applications, the fees will start at £250 for estates between £50,001 and £300,000 increasing to £6,000 for estates of over £2m. At its highest level, this is an increase of over 2,600%.

Private client lawyer Nicola Waldman shares the most common ‘excuses’ she hears from people procrastinating over making a will.

The Chancellor has written to the Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) asking them to review and simplify the inheritance tax (IHT) regime noting that it and the ‘system within which it operates, is particularly complex’. The OTS have been asked to look at the process of submitting returns, paying tax, routine estate planning and disclosure and the rules for gifting. So this is a very wide ranging review. At this stage, we have no idea when the report will be made and whether there will be any changes to the amounts of IHT that must be paid.

This week, a significant award was made to the family of an 81 year old woman who was kept alive by a hospital, against her will. This case highlights the importance of not only making a valid living will (if you feel strongly about the issue), but also making sure the relevant people are aware you have done so.

The BBC recently reported on a rather bizarre story coming out of Australia. A court decided that an unsent text message found within a deceased man’s mobile phone was enough to constitute a legally valid will. Instead of relying on legislative formalities, the court instead cited the man’s clear intentions as their reasoning for the decision.