http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/ Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors - Wills, Trusts, Estates News RSS feed en-gb email@wilson-nesbitt.co.uk info@flamegreen.com 30 http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/839/27062008/northern_ireland_residents_never_too_young_to_write_a_will.html It is never too early to visit solicitors to draw up a will, according to Help the Aged.The charity has commented that whether or not to write a will depends on circumstances rather than age.Head of wills and legacies at the charity Helen Foster said that for the wealthy, it is always useful to... Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:24:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/762/14052008/10p_tax_compensation_plan_announced.html The chancellor has announced how the government plans to compensate lower-earners after the abolition of the ten pence tax bracket.He told the commons that he will increase the individual personal tax allowances by £600 to £6,035 this year.Of the 5.3 million households that lost... Wed, 14 May 2008 13:36:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/613/18022008/iht_generous_to_small_businesses.html Solicitors in Belfast and Northern Ireland are often asked to write up wills for small business owners indicating that the family firm will be left to another member.As solicitors will know, currently Inheritance Tax laws (IHT) covering Belfast and Northern Ireland mean that small businesses can... Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:45:00 GMT http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/606/08022008/ctfs_worth_%C2%A324bn_in_future.html The first group of children in Britain and Northern Ireland who have been eligible to set up a child trust fund (CTF) through a solicitor are looking at reaping around £2.4 billion in today's money when they reach 18, Children's Mutual estimates.This money includes the... Fri, 8 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/578/23012008/trust_money_could_go_to_waste.html Money in child trust funds (CTFs) set up by solicitors on the birth of a child could go to waste if children in Belfast and Northern Ireland are not educated about how to control their cash, experts have warned.By the time children in Belfast and Northern Ireland turn 16-years-old, if they are... Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/561/14012008/solicitors_essential_for_co-buyers.html With property prices in Belfast and Northern Ireland remaining high, many people may be tempted to buy a house with other people, but this should be entered into with caution and the help of a solicitor.First-time buyers in Belfast and Northern Ireland could find that co-buying is a good way to... Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:15:00 GMT http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/552/09012008/iht_planning_should_start_early.html Inheritance Tax (IHT) need not be a burden and though it is advisable to start planning early, it is never too late to begin, financial advisers have said.For homeowners in Belfast and Northern Ireland, sitting down with a solicitor to plan how to deal with IHT should be done as early as... Wed, 9 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/425/25102007/more_pensioners_in_the_province.html Solicitors in Northern Ireland are likely to see an increase in the number of people wanting to arrange their will, as national statistics show that there is an increasingly ageing population in the province.Northern Ireland's population, which was recorded as 1.742 million last year, is... Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:00:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/408/11102007/widow_forced_to_settle_with_husbands_ex-wife.html Solicitors in Northern Ireland will have watched an unusual case with interest, as a woman whose husband died only hours after they married has been forced to pay £100,000 to her groom's ex-wife.Three Court of Appeal judges ruled that as Owen Soulsbury had promised his former wife,... Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:30:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/405/10102007/darling_pledges_inheritance_tax_cut.html Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced that inheritance tax will be cut in his first pre-Budget Report.Solicitors in Northern Ireland may see more clients looking to buy houses as the inheritance tax threshold for married couples will be doubled from £300,000 to £600,000 with... Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:00:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/389/01102007/ethical_ctfs_show_future_thinking.html While most parents do invest money in stakeholder child trust funds (CTFs), Family Investments has said that a long-term investment in the ethical variety is the choice of families looking to the future. All children in Britain and Northern Ireland who were born on or after September 1st 2002... Mon, 1 Oct 2007 12:45:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/365/18092007/old_wills_obstruct_new_changes.html Solicitors have said that a will should be updated "every time something really significant happens in your life, whether it's a change in family circumstance, change in financial circumstance or, if you're aware of it, a significant change in law". Mills Kemp and... Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:12:37 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/361/17092007/wills_importance_highlighted.html People in Britain and Northern Ireland should update their wills every time something significant happens in their lives, solicitors Mills Kemp and Brown has advised.A spokesperson for the firm explained that changes in financial circumstances, changes in family circumstances and changes to the... Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:46:03 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/359/13092007/upward_trend_for_ethical_trusts.html Solicitors in Britain and Northern Ireland are likely to see more clients setting up ethical child trust funds (CTFs), as more people become aware of environmental issues.A CTF is a tax-free savings and investment account for children born on or after September 1st 2002, which the government... Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:45:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/354/11092007/update_your_will_every_five_years.html Despite the fact that two thirds of people in Britain and Northern Ireland have no will prepared, experts advise that people should visit their solicitors to update their wills every five years to accommodate changes in circumstances. According to Barclays Wealth, 63 per cent of adults have not... Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:13:10 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/334/24082007/accountants_despair_of_clients_not_making_wills.html An accountancy firm has publicly denounced the complacency that seems to be sweeping the country after research revealed that only ten per cent of people in Britain and Northern Ireland have put a will in place.The main excuse that people use for not having made a will is simply 'not getting... Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:30:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/307/07082007/clever_couples_can_avoid_high_iht.html Married couples or those in a civil partnership can help to cut inheritance tax (IHT) by writing a nil rate band discretionary trust will, Willcare has advised. Couples in Britain and Northern Ireland can write up a will that incorporates two discretionary trusts, which means that upon death the... Tue, 7 Aug 2007 11:00:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/303/03082007/ifa_hopes_parents_will_trust_in_ctfs.html An independent financial advisor (IFA) has said that the take-up of governmental Child Trust Funds (CTFs) is still disappointingly low but the industry hopes that parents will realise the benefits of investment in time. The regional manager of IFA Throgmorton, Colin Rothery, has said that CTFs... Fri, 3 Aug 2007 11:00:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/294/30072007/accountants_face_greater_regulation.html Accountancy services in Britain and Northern Ireland will face greater regulation from December 15th 2007.Companies offering accountancy, tax, audit and insolvency services will be forced to undergo monitoring for compliance by an independent professional body or by HM Revenue & Customs,... Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:15:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/222/03072007/ni_children_get_less_cash.html Children in Northern Ireland receive less money than their peers in the rest of Britain, it has been revealed.Northern Ireland's Children and Young People Commissioner, Patricia Lewsley, has said that the province's youngsters are being short changed on spending across the fields of... Tue, 3 Jul 2007 12:30:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/209/26062007/brits_lacking_wills.html New research has revealed that as many as two in three people do not have a will.According to a study carried out by Barclays Wealth, 63 per cent of people in Britain and Northern Ireland still have no will prepared, which is the same proportion as in a study carried out a year ago. The... Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:44:35 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/204/21062007/non-working_parents_can_still_invest_in_ctfs.html Family Investments has said that with more parents taking leave from work to look after their newborns, finances may be stretched, but that is no excuse not to build up a Child Trust Fund (CTFs) in different ways.A survey released by savings bank ING Direct found that in today's society 43... Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:00:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/190/13062007/lords_amend_pension_bill.html Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers have added amendments to the pension bill that could give more support for those whose pension funds went bust before 2005.As the bill moves through Parliament, the House of Lords passed amendments that are designed to give 125,000 pensioners across Britain... Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:33:56 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/174/04062007/more_laws_than_ever_during_blair_years.html Solicitors in Britain and Northern Ireland will have had their work cut out for them over the past decade as statistics show that Tony Blair has passed a record number of laws in his time in power.A study by Sweet & Maxwell has revealed that seven new laws were passed per day on average,... Mon, 4 Jun 2007 11:45:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/166/30052007/hmrc_frustrated_by_ctf_take-up.html After one in five parents failed to invest their Child Trust Fund (CTF) vouchers, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has invested the money on parents' behalf.Yet the downside is that the HMRC only makes this decision after 12 months, meaning that the funds are losing about £7.5 million... Wed, 30 May 2007 12:30:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/127/14052007/solicitors_seeing_more_unusual_cases.html Around two million people seek legal advice a year and although some cases will always be in a solicitor's daily remit, people are increasingly seeking advice for more unusual matters.According to a survey by TakeLegalAdvice.com, nearly 60 per cent of people consult a solicitor when moving... Mon, 14 May 2007 13:30:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/110/04052007/more_nationals_to_suffer_dementia.html News that dementia in Northern Ireland is expected to increase by over 25 per cent over the next decade means that those approaching senior citizenship should visit their solicitors earlier to ensure their will is in place while they still enjoy full mental cognition.Taking into account the... Fri, 4 May 2007 13:30:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/102/30042007/hmrc_issues_childrens_trust_advice.html As this year's Baby Show embarks on a tour of the UK, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued advice to parents about the benefits of Child Trust Funds and how they work.Advisors will be present at all the exhibitions, the latest of which is to take place in Birmingham on May 11th. Liz... Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:30:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/89/19042007/expert_says_nil-band_rate_case_proves_zero.html After a nil-band rate trust was ruled invalid by tax commissioners, many had feared that this method of cutting inheritance tax (IHT) would not work, but a leading expert has dismissed this as a fallacy. Julie Hutchison, estate planning specialist at Standard Life Assurance, says that the... Thu, 19 Apr 2007 14:30:00 BST http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/81/16042007/over_60s_maintain_ssia_savings.html Thirty-four per cent of Northern Ireland's over 60s plan to save the money they will receive when their Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) mature, according to a study by the Bank of Ireland. The bank's statistics show that of these people, 35 per cent will keep the cash for... Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:30:00 BST