Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
Before you can ingather the property, assets and money in an estate in Scotland, you need to obtain Confirmation from the Sheriff Court. Confirmation in Scotland is the equivalent of Probate in England.
Trying to decide on which solicitor to appoint after a family member or close relative has died can be challenging. There are, however, some critical factors to consider when reaching a decision on which solicitor to appoint. Before making any appointment, make sure you have the authority, either as an executor named in the deceased’s Will or, if there is no Will, as a person entitled to be appointed by the courts as an executor. If you are not in this position, any decision you make or opinion you might express could be overruled by the valid Executor.
Having a child is one of the most special moments in a parent’s life. There is the leadup to the birth, the preparation to get the baby’s room ready and all the presents from friends and relatives. Furthermore, once the baby has arrived and comes home, there’s the change in family dynamics with a new person in the house – whether it’s a first child or another addition to an already busy household!
When you die, if qualifying assets in your estate are worth more than £325,000 (known as the “nil rate band”), Inheritance Tax (IHT) will be due on any amount over that figure. However, there are reliefs and exemptions that can be applied to either reduce or eliminate the IHT liability. One of these is taper relief which is available in certain circumstances relating to gifts. We receive regular requests from clients asking, “How does taper relief work?”.
You can exclude a child from a Will in Scotland, but that does not mean the child cannot share in their parent's estate. Just because a parent does not gift something to a child in a Will does not mean the child is not entitled to a share in the estate. In Scotland, children have an automatic entitlement to share in their parent's estate. These are called Legal Rights.
