The Kings Court Trust Blog

The death of David Bowie last month caused a generation to mourn the loss of one of the world's most charismatic musical stars.  The man associated with numerous wild and wacky on-stage personas was perhaps one of the last people you would associate with planning for his death and making sure that his financial situation was left in a highly organised manner.

A recent article by The Telegraph has detailed the emotional stress that dealing with the death of a loved one can cause, including the anxiety of having to deal with the taxman when it comes to Inheritance Tax (IHT).

The average cost of a standard Will produced by a solicitor has dropped in the UK, according to IRN Research.  Within the last 12 months, the cost of a professionally produced will has decreased from £124 to £118.

Ordinary individuals inheriting assets from overseas could risk criminal charges if they miscalculate the tax owed, reports The Telegraph.

The public are in favour of Will writing becoming a regulated practice and are hoping the UK government will soon look to implement some form of regulation in the near future, according to the Law Gazette.

The BBC has reported that the cost of public health funerals, also known as paupers’ funerals, has risen by almost 30% to £1.7m in the past four years.  The number of these funerals taking place has also risen by 11% over the same period.

Following sustained and increasingly vocal lobbying from customers and consumer groups, a number of leading UK banks have increased the amount of money that can be released from deceased customer accounts to their grieving families without first having to apply for probate, This Is Money reports.

The new leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, has called for significant changes to be made to Inheritance Tax (IHT) laws, arguing that regulations should be graded to make the process fairer.

“If I am an executor to my father’s estate, and the shares have fallen 18pc since his death, will I have to pay inheritance on the value at his death, even though I will be selling them for far less?”