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.
For many people, the most valuable asset in their estate on death is their residential property. The value of the property, particularly in cities like Edinburgh, can mean that otherwise small estates become subject to Inheritance Tax. It is important to report an accurate value of the property to HMRC for Inheritance Tax purposes, with fluctuations in the market making this quite challenging for non-professionals.
The Scottish Government has been considering possible changes to Scottish Succession Law for a number of years and recently published an important update to their intentions.
According to recent figures from the Ministry of Justice Family Court, the number of parental orders in the UK – the transferring of legal rights from the surrogate mother to the intended parents – has almost trebled. The statistics highlight an increasing number of children being born through surrogacy, with 331 parental orders being granted last year compared with only 117 in 2011.
In today’s society, we are seeing a dramatic increase in individuals with digital assets. From social media, email, photo storage and music streaming these are only some of the many non-tangible assets that people are amassing. An increasingly common problem is how these assets are managed and dealt with following death.
