Legal secretary jailed for forging £79,000 worth of cheques
A former legal secretary from Caerphilly in South Wales has been jailed for two and a half years for stealing nearly £80,000 from disabled clients. Dianne Spragg, 48, wrote 65 cheques to herself or online shopping companies while working at Cardiff firm Geldards to fund shopping sprees. Nearly £40,000 was taken from a scaffolder who […]
Trustees need to fully engage with regulator on finance, says Charities Commission
Charity trustees need to open up when it comes to their policy on reserves, according to the Director of Policy and Communications Sarah Atkinson. The commission has recently updated its key finance guidance to put the responsibility for a charity’s financial wellbeing on its trustees. The commission also says trustees need to be better […]
Court of Protection hearings now open to the public
A pilot scheme has begun to open up proceedings in the Court of Protection to the public and the media. The pilot is expected to run for at least six months. The Court makes decisions on personal welfare matters as well as property and affairs of those lacking the mental capacity to do so themselves […]
Devon will writer hopes to change the legal services market in 2016
This Devon-based will writer is hoping the launch of his new product can change the way the legal market operates in 2016. Trevor Worth has been working in legal services for 28 years in the south-west, but thanks to a leap of logic while studying for an MBA, he’s all set to launch […]
Keep it simple (Will they, or won’t they?)
Following the death of a loved one, the last thing your clients want to have to think about is the multitude of estate administration tasks. There are many vital elements they need to consider – and it seems there’s an app that could help. Simplify is an app developed for estate management, to ensure people […]
Public Health England report "excess deaths" in Northern ireland for start of January
Public Health England has reported "excess deaths" in Northern Ireland for week two of 2015. The Respiratory Diseases Department at PHE also recoded excess deaths between weeks 52 and week one for Northern Ireland using European Monitoring of Excess Mortality algorithim. The Public Health Body reported 13,045 all-cause deaths in England and Wales for week […]
FCA names Andrew Bailey as new Chief Exec
Andrew Bailey, the current Head of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and a Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, has been named as the next Chief Executive at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Mr Bailey will replace the FCA’s interim CEO Tracey McDermott once a successor has been found at the PRA. Andrew Bailey […]
Equity release lending hit £1.61 billion in 2015
Drawdown lending hit £271 million in the last quarter of 2015, pushing the total equity release to a record high for the year, according to the Equity Release Council. Nigel Waterson, Chairman of the Equity Release Council has also called for equity release planning to be part of “every homeowner’s checklist” when it comes to […]
Do you belong? (Will they, or won’t they?)
The Society of Will Writers (SWW) have introduced a “Code Compliant” mark that their members can use on their websites and other collateral, to show consumers they take quality and compliance standards seriously. In an unregulated profession, it is a great advantage for will writers to self-regulate accordingly, and make their business stand out from […]
SRA welcomes Insurance Task Force report
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has welcomed the Ministry of Justice’s report on insurance fraud and will be working even more closely with other agencies in a bid to crack down further on fraudulent claims. The Insurance Task Force published its report yesterday (Monday 18th January). It claimed that more could be done to tackle […]
ZEDRA is launched, as acquisition of Barclays’ trust business completes
Regulatory approvals pave way for growth and international expansion Barclays retains minority stake, supporting future ambitions First global trust business acquired without a private equity backer in a decade An independent investor group, led by the Sarikhani and Nielsen families, today announces the completion of the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Barclays’ trust and […]
Co-operative boosts legal structure
It was recently announced that the Co-operative Group has bought Sheffield based firm, Collective Legal Solution Group, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will form part of their already established services including insurance, wills, trusts, probate and funeral services. The Co-operative, which has been trading for 172 years, was the first non-legal entity to be […]
Love the Judge you’re with
The unedifying case of Watts v Watts [2015] EWCA Civ 1297 finally came to a close with a Judgment of the Court of Appeal on 21st December 2015. Some readers will recall the first instance judgment from March 2014, in which the claimant, Christine Watts, was successful in setting aside her mother’s apparent 2011 will […]
Government survey reveals surprising results
The Law Society recently commissioned research in the form of a YouGov Poll which questioned approximately 1,554 UK adults. The survey highlighted that 55% of respondents would prefer will writers to be regulated in some way and of those people surveyed, 95% praised the services received by solicitors. The survey also found that around 90% […]
Preserving wealth from one generation to the next
Beneficial Trust and Will Company (BTWC) are delighted to announce that they have been appointed by the Julian Harris Independent Financial and Mortgage Adviser network as preferred provider for will writing and estate planning services. Julian Harris Financial Consultants and Julian Harris Mortgages Ltd have over 22 years of experience in the highly competitive, professional […]
Hospice nets £1.75 million in will donations
A hospice received £1.75 million in donations from wills and legacies in just one year, according to recently published accounts. The 18-bed Marlets Hospice in Hove, Sussex costs £9,000 a day to run and admitted 275 patients for an average of 17 days each. About 84% of the patients seen by the hospice had cancer […]
Lawyers issue stark warning to carers
Whether it is an elderly parent, relative, friend or even neighbour, many of us at some point will provide some degree of care on behalf of another. It’s a duty that most would perform without second thought however there are also thousands of people who are employed as carers throughout the UK. In recent years […]
