Third Of Brits Ill-Equipped In Future Financial Planning
Many UK adults have not prepared for their financial futures, according to a new study by UK’s leading price comparison website. MoneySuperMarket surveyed the British public to determine UK savings and find out how they are preparing for the future – and revealed that a third (33%) of UK adults have no idea how much […]
2019 In Review: Technological Change, Political U-Turns And Probate Delays
The Government has really put the Wills and probate sector through the ringer in 2019 with potential regulatory change evaporating at the last minute and technological and structural innovations collapsing an established system. At the start of the year, HM Courts and Tribunals System (HMCTS) made a number of announcements which were intent on shaking […]
Pensioner Loses £193,000 Inheritance After Sort Code Blunder
A disabled pensioner has lost £193,000 inheritance after giving out the wrong sort code. Peter Teich, 74, from Cambridge was withheld his inheritance payment by a bank after he inadvertently gave the wrong sort code. In an unfortunate turn of events, Teich had mistakenly got one digit wrong on his sort code and Barclays are refusing to refund it because the Barclays’ customer who received his inheritance would not give the bank permission to withdraw […]
Make Sure Your Staff Are The Best In Snow!
We understand just how difficult training your staff can be, especially when information is misunderstood, due to a lack of knowledge and experience – which can have disastrous consequences! It is very easy for staff to make mistakes if they interpret training in different ways. With the current surge in Wills being contested, your drafting processes need to be […]
Discovering Assets & Liabilities In Court Of Protection Matters
Over the past 12 months we have spent a lot of time talking to a wide variety of practitioners working on Court of Protection Matters, listening to their experiences and stories which often showcase the very best, and sadly, the very worst of human nature. A common frustration (outside of the delays experienced in applications!) […]
Leaving Legacy Gifts In Wills Now Top Of Agenda For Will Writers
Over two thirds of solicitors and Will writers are initiating conversations with their clients regarding leaving a charitable gift in Wills, according to a study commissioned by a charity consortium. Remember a Charity commissioned a tracking study from Future Thinking which revealed more UK legal advisers are raising the topic of charitable requests with their Will writing clients than ever before. The study revealed that 68% of solicitors and […]
The Challenges Of Verifying Identity When The Client Is Abroad
“As fraud becomes increasingly sophisticated, digital identity checks can play a vital role in protecting both conveyancing firms and clients from identity theft and related scams” – The Council of Licensed Conveyancers ‘CLC Conveyancing Tech Guide’ Verifying a client’s identity is time-consuming and adds significant cost to the bottom line, but what are the challenges […]
What Does 2020 Hold For Your Law Firm?
In this article we look at what some of the predictions and analysis from analyst, accountancy and consumer organisations. Technology Gartner expects that IT spending in EMEA will begin to recover in 2020 after three consecutive years of decline. During 2019 we suffered a period when local prices rose for technology hardware due to the […]
Social Care Investment Needs To Consider Appropriate Elderly Housing
400,000 ‘lifetime homes’ are desperately needed to provide the elderly with accessible and appropriate accommodation. Lord Best, Chair of the Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People, has suggested that a current lack of provision for older residents will cause an unforeseen housing crisis in the future. Despite the need increasing, few homes […]
Average Age Of Parents Increases For Tenth Consecutive Year
The average age for both mothers and fathers has increased for the past decade, with couples choosing the delay parenthood whilst crafting their careers. The average age of a UK father in England and Wales has now tipped the scales at 33.6 years, according to recent data from the Office for National Statistics. Mothers–to–be remain […]
Legal Sector Remains Dominant In 2019
TheCityUK has released its ‘Legal Excellence, Internationally Renowned: UK Legal Services 2019’ report; showing the strength of the legal service sector in the UK and high international credentials. “TheCityUK is the industry-led body representing UK-based financial and related professional services. In the UK, across Europe and globally, we promote policies that drive competitiveness, support job creation and ensure […]
Banks. By Your Side? Or Causing Chaos For Estates And Executries
Earlier this year, Lloyds Banking Group discovered it was holding more than 190,000 envelopes containing valuable papers which it could not match to its list of current customers. After further examination, it was discovered within these papers were approximately 9,000 wills of customers who had already passed away. A department at Lloyds was tasked in […]
Probate Sector Set For Significant Changes By 2027
The Law Society are urging the legal sector to embrace modernity by adapting to a more ‘deregulated environment, stronger commercial pressures and increasing adoption of technology.’ Employment in the legal sector is predicted to fall 13% by 2027, according to the Law Society’s Strategic Workforce Planning reports. Despite the number of legal professionals in England […]
Pensions Gender Gap Ever-Widening
The number of women who have not enrolled into a pension continues to dramatically widen. There has always been a big gender gap in UK retirement incomes as last year research revealed that the gender gap almost trebled over the past ten years, according to the Royal London’s analysis. Meanwhile, last month research from Aegon found that the number of women […]
SRA Warn Probate Sector About Impersonation Fraud Attempts
The Solicitors Regulation Authority have published two scam alerts In the past week. The legal sector lost £731,250 in the opening half of 2019 to speculative and sophisticated fraudsters. Even outside the legal sector, Action Fraud found that £208 million was stolen through push payment fraud where criminals use social engineering techniques to convince the […]
“You’re A Stubborn One Mr.Grinch…” Are You Finding It Hard Letting Go Of Paper?
So you’re still taking instructions with paper? We know that some things are hard to let go of, but the use of paper whilst instruction taking is slowing your business down! This time of year can be manic, so saving precious time & money when it comes to your clients and your business is vital. Paper can […]
Arken.legal (UK) Ltd Makes Private Client Sector Up To 50% More Productive With New Digital Fact Find Tool: Arken Acquire
New efficiency tool sends a link to your clients to capture information prior to interview Seamless transfer of data straight into Arken Professional Significantly reduces data capture time Allocate the most appropriate resource to the requirement Effective lead generation tool Available with an Arken Professional or Arken Enterprise plan The Private Client sector is sadly […]
Legal Workflow Joins The Biggest Ever Membership Of Legal Software Suppliers Association
Legal Workflow are pleased to announce we have joined LSSA, the trade organisation for the legal technology industry. We join three other new members – GlobalX, Moneypenny and Yourkeys. LSSA Chair, Craig Matthews comments: “We welcome these four exciting companies to the LSSA. The number of full members of the LSSA is now at a […]
What Support Is Available From The Society?
With over 1,600 members the Society has firmly cemented itself as not only the largest, but also the leading self-regulatory body for professional Will Writers and Estate Planners through our involvement within the industry and benefits which we offer to our members. Each member pays an annual subscription to the Society which grants them access […]
HMCTS Probate Improvement Claims Quashed By Professionals
Despite HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) claiming the delays to probate applications have significantly improved and will be at an end by Christmas, many probate providers are still struggling with the aftermath and consequences of prolonged delays. New applications for grants of probate are now averaging four weeks with targets that this will halve […]
