On the 24th of July 2019, Boris Johnson became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, taking on the task of completing Brexit from Theresa May. After months of turbulent deliberations and a general election, the UK will formally leave the European Union (EU) at 11:00PM on the 31st of January. This blog explores the questions raised about the impact of Brexit on the estate administration process and professionals within the industry.

It’s now official – heterosexual couples in England and Wales can formalise their relationship with a civil partnership rather than marriage. Civil partnerships were first introduced through the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 and was only available to same-sex couples . As of the 31st of December 2019, mixed-sex couples have been able to form this union. The amendment to the Act was made as a result of a Supreme Court ruling which confirmed that the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

It’s a new year and a new decade – Welcome to 2020! This time of year can trigger many feelings – optimism, reflection, uncertainty or all of the above. As we think back to some of the hot topics we followed throughout the year, we realise many are still relevant as we step into the new year.

Over the past year, we’ve monitored several news headlines and developments that have impacted the estate administration industry, including the probate application delays, the rising cost of death, and everyone’s favourite topic, Brexit.

Death still remains to be a taboo subject and people avoid talking about it. Whether that’s discussing what they want to happen when they die with their family, or speaking to a professional (such as a Financial Adviser or Will Writer) about plans to protect their legacy when the time comes. People typically still find talking about death uncomfortable and struggle to bring it up as a topic of conversation. Almost 60% of people do not have a Will in place, which makes you wonder whether that is due to this stigma surrounding death.

The deadline has now passed for individuals, including Executors and Administrators of estates, to reclaim Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). In order to claim money back for PPI, complaints needed to be submitted to the providers or Financial Ombudsman Service by the 29th of August 2019. Financial institutions had set aside money to cover the billions of pounds that remained unclaimed.

The importance of creating a valid Will has been a popular topic of conversation recently. After details of George Michael’s Will came to light, some popular TV and radio shows including Loose Women, This Morning and The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, took the opportunity to discuss the topic.

Estate administration is a term slowly becoming more commonly known. One of the challenges we face is around public perception and education; currently, probate is the common term used to describe the estate administration process. As a business providing this service to families all across the UK, we receive questions about estate administration, probate and everything in between. In this blog post, we sit down with our Head of Service Delivery to explore the answers to four of our most asked questions around probate and estate administration.

In May 2019, Kings Court Trust travelled the length of the country to provide educational seminars to over 100 of our business partners. The seminars took place in Preston, Durham, Warwick, Maidstone and finished with a session in Bristol, where Kings Court Trust are based. The agenda for each seminar included breakfast, lunch, networking and presentations from industry experts.