Wills, Probate and Inheritance

By Jane Shaw Associate Solicitor in our Wills, Probate and Inheritance team. A woman who was left nothing in her father’s will has been awarded more than £138,000 from his estate as a reasonable provision for her needs. The woman, referred to in court only as the claimant, suffered from a debilitating mental illness. Her father had died in 2016. His estate was valued at £554,000.  The claimant’s mother was…

At Cartmell Shepherd we value and encourage client feedback and we regularly review the feedback we receive.  As part of our commitment to improving the services we provide we send our clients a feedback questionnaire at the end of every matter or case. The most recent feedback shows that our teams, even through these tough and unprecedented times of the pandemic, have continued to go that extra mile for their…

A SOLICITOR who helped give clients peace of mind during lockdown has won a top global award. Rebecca Adams 30, of leading legal firm Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors which has the largest team of wills estates and trust lawyers in Cumbria, achieved a prestigious STEP Worldwide Excellence Award. Rebecca received the stand-out award for achieving the highest mark globally in her Advanced Certificate in Will Preparation as part of her four-part…

A TYNEDALE solicitor is encouraging more people to understand the challenges those living with dementia face on a daily basis. Alice Whittome a private client solicitor with leading legal firm Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors which has one the largest teams of Wills, Estates and Trust Lawyers across Cumbria and Northumberland, is championing more awareness of dementia in the community. Alice, who works from Cartmell Shepherd’s Haltwhistle office, has completed a course…

By Zoe Calway Director The High Court has corrected a clerical error in a man’s will that would have given his nephews and nieces an unintended windfall. Patrick Joseph Kelly was born in Ireland but moved to England, where he remained until his death apart from visits to his family.  He never married and had no children. In 2010, he made a will in Ireland appointing his brother Vincent as executor…

WITH people wanting to ensure their legal affairs are in order during the Covid-19 pandemic a team of solicitors from Haltwhistle are working from home to help. While many businesses have closed temporarily, or scaled back, Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors at Haltwhistle are working as hard as ever for their clients – the only difference being that they are based from home, rather than the office. Nicholas Devlin one of Cartmell…

Nicholas Devlin Solicitor in our Wills, Probate & Inheritance team provides an update. NHS and emergency service workers who die in the line of duty fighting Covid-19 will be exempt from Inheritance Tax liability on their estates. The exemption, which was originally introduced for members of the armed forces, was extended in 2015 to include the police, fire service and health care workers who are killed while carrying out their…

COVID19 has seen an upsurge in people making wills, wanting to make sure their wishes are down on paper for their family and friends. With people wanting to put their affairs in order quickly, expert solicitors have adapted the way they work, so they can comply with COVID-19 social distancing regulations and yet still provide a full professional and personal service which gives customers peace of mind. Zoe Calway Director…

The coronavirus outbreak has led to a 30% increase in the number of elderly people wishing to write new wills or grant power of attorney. Ian Bond, chair of the Law Society’s wills and equity committee, told The Daily Telegraph that law firms throughout the country had had seen a “huge spike” in the number of queries over the last two months. Most of the requests were from elderly or…

A group of MPs have called for root and branch reforms of the inheritance tax system, including a cut in the standard rate from 40% to 10%. They also want to scrap most of the current tax reliefs, including the seven-year rule that allows you to pass on wealth without any tax implications. Instead, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Inheritance and Intergenerational Fairness wants a new annual allowance of £30,000…