The Kings Court Trust Blog

As of 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. At the present moment in time, nothing is certain about how the UK will leave the European Union (EU). However, what we do know is that Boris Johnson will lead the country out of the EU on the 31st of October 2019, with or without a deal. This blog post explores how this uncertainty raises questions about the impact of the inevitable Brexit on the estate administration process and professionals within the industry.

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.

Kings Court Trust are pleased to launch a brand new guide to help professionals understand estate administration.

On the 16th of April 2019, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) released a briefing note warning practitioners of an issue related to Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claims against estates. If you’re involved in the administration of a deceased person’s estate, then this is an issue that you need to be aware of.

This is the second and final part of our ‘understanding probate and estate administration’ blog series. If you missed part one, you can read it here.

Kings Court Trust has administered close to 10,000 estates and distributed over £2 billion in inheritance. It’s a considerable amount, but there’s a family – your clients – behind every single estate. As we explain below, we work closely with our business partners to help their client's families, which in turn, helps them maintain and grow their business.

This is the first part of our ‘understanding probate and estate administration’ series. If you are looking for the second blog, you can read it here.

According to a YouGov survey, 96% of people who prepare their own Will say they do not need external advice, with 21% stating that fears over the cost of professional advice prompted them to do it themselves.

Earlier this year the Scottish Parliament passed the final stage of the Succession (Scotland) Act 2016.  The Act means that any ex-spouse or civil partner will no longer be able to inherit under a Will following a divorce or dissolution, unless the Will makes specific provision for them.