Murray Beith Murray is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For over 170 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
A crucial part of the estate planning process is choosing your executor and, for many, this will typically be a loved one such as your spouse or children. However, this raises the question as to whether they can also be named as a beneficiary or if this could cause them to be disinherited from your Will.
When advising on and drafting a Will, a Solicitor must ensure that the Testator (the person making the Will) has full capacity to make the decisions featured in the document. Failure to do so can leave the Will open to challenge by disgruntled beneficiaries or those who believed they should have benefited from the Will.
Murray Beith Murray Partner, Andrew Paterson writes in The Scotsman today. Read the full article below, republished by kind permission of The Scotsman:
Many people are facing onerous obligations as the executor of the Estate of a loved one. These duties and responsibilities do not cease because of lockdown restrictions, and those acting as executors or trustees of estates or family trusts must understand what they must do, and what can be done at this exceptional time.
HMRC has made temporary changes to its Inheritance Tax (IHT) processes to minimise delays to its service during the COVID-19 outbreak. The emergency measures have been implemented to ensure the department’s service can continue as smoothly as possible while the Government’s restrictions remain in place.
