Elderly Client Adviser The latest headlines and articles from ECA Magazine (c) 2005, Ark Group Ltd. All rights reserved. http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=D895CA1B-FAC3-433D-ADF1-D4D74F3D7B93 Alistair Darling’s recent budget was not as generous as it seemed, says Pauline Platt. With the outcome of a general election just decided, the issue of inheritance tax has been in something of a state of flux for some time. Former Chancellor Alistair Darling announced in the recent budget that the nil-rate band, or tax threshold, would be frozen for the next four years. 27 July 2010 http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=7831DE5C-8A99-4C08-A8E4-0CEABC1EF8ED The introduction of ABS is a mega change. It will affect everyone. It does not just apply to every other solicitor or every other law firm. It applies to the vast bulk of the private client market as much as to the mainstream personal injury and other “commoditised” markets, which we have already seen eroded by third-party market entrants. If there is perceived to be a decent profit margin within the law, as there is, then there will be increased competition until the market stabilises. That is basic economics. It is how the real world of business works. It is not how the legal services market has operated up until now. It is presently impossible for outsiders to make money from “proper” law firms doing the stuff proper law firms do. 22 July 2010 http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=8DB7BEBC-BD56-4E9B-BBF2-CB914F406346 The case of Re Key is novel in that it seems to be the first reported decision on the effect of bereavement on testamentary capacity. Furthermore, as Briggs J recognised, it is not one of those cases in which it is possible to point to a conspicuous inability to satisfy one of the distinct limbs of Banks v Goodfellow. Rather than being concerned with cognitive impairment, the case is one in which, on the basis of all the evidence, it was clear that Mr Key was simply unable to exercise the decision-making powers of a testator. To the extent that such a conclusion involves a slight development of the Banks v Goodfellow test, the judge asserted that such a development is necessitated by the greater understanding of the mind now available from modern psychiatric medicine, in particular in relation to affective disorder. 22 July 2010 http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=578ADB89-127A-45A4-BA33-83FAE2F02B79 The perils of an invalid will are one of the most potent arguments solicitors have in the battle against homemade wills and cut price will-makers. However, sometimes it isn’t the complications of the content that cause the headaches. In one recent case Fraser & Fraser faced, the will was well written and thorough. But it was rejected by the Probate Court at the last hurdle – as the witnesses hadn’t both signed both pages. 22 July 2010 http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=FED08D83-8F5B-4461-A6D7-EA1AA76D5D00 The dust has now settled on the coalition government’s first budget. Delivered on 22 June by chancellor George Osborne, the general consensus seems to be that the budget was much as expected and, perhaps even, not quite as bad as some feared. Widely tipped tax hikes did not come to fruition, with instead the emphasis on public spending cuts as a means of reducing the deficit. The rise in VAT from January 2011 to 20 per cent is arguably the most far-reaching change, and the likely increase in state pension age to 66 from 2016 has proved one of the more controversial revisions. But what does the budget actually mean in real terms? We canvass opinion on the reforms from industry experts across a range of sectors to find out what they think is the true impact of the budget on the elderly client. 22 July 2010 http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=9B2483F6-F7C1-4A3B-8CDE-71F929132F54 The court of appeal at the end of June ruled that a woman who had a sex-change operation 10 years ago can receive a pension from the age of 60, overturning a previous judgment from the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP). The DWP had said last March that Christine Timbrell, who was born a man but underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2000, could not receive a pension until the age of 65 as she was still married to her wife. Under the 2004 Gender Recognition Act (GRA), the new sex of married transsexuals is only recognised by law if their marriages are annulled or dissolved. 22 July 2010 http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=305240AC-B2AD-488E-9FBC-8CA21B460B37 NON-LAWYER WILL WRITERS in Scotland will now be subject to the same regulation as their legally qualified counterparts after the Scottish parliament approved in June amendments to the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill. The move means that consumers who use non-solicitors to draft their wills are entitled to the same recompense as those that opt for traditional lawyers should things go wrong. 22 July 2010 http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=C18BD333-72A9-4E9C-BF6C-97DED6960FB0 Many independent financial advisers have for many years had a strong female representation among their senior consultants, but this has been as a result of chance, rather than a deliberate master plan. There is absolutely no evidence that female advisers are any better, or worse, than their male counterparts. However, it would appear that recently an increasing number of firms believe that their female employees can be a considerable attraction to potential clients and are seeking to capitalise on this fact. 22 July 2010 http://www.ecadviser.com/display.asp?articleid=81963A07-184E-4913-B107-D3E5717F068C Director of public prosecutions (DPP) Keir Starmer ruled at the end of June that it was “not in the public interest” to continue with legal action against former GP Michael Irwin for his role in the assisted suicide of cancer sufferer Raymond Cutkelvin. Right-to-die campaigner Dr Irwin claims to have taken three people to Zurich-based euthanasia clinic Dignitas and admitted to contributing £1,500 to Cutkelvin’s procedure. 22 July 2010