TESS
Wednesday 29 July 2020
Remotely Witnessed Wills Officially Declared Valid in England and Wales
The Ministry of Justice have succumbed to pressure, as a result of the current pandemic, for Wills to be witnessed remotely. Please click here for further information.
TUESDAY 14 JULY 2020
Making and Registering a Lasting Power Of Attorney (LPA) During the Coronavirus Outbreak
The Pandemic has led to a lot of soul searching and worry about “what if?” for many of us, not only physically but also mentally. An LPA is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) choose trusted people (‘attorneys’) to make financial decisions or health and care decisions on your behalf if you cannot.
Our Trust and Estate Support Services team can provide advice and attend to the preparation of Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney. Please click here for further information.
Wednesday 22 April 2020
Help following the death of a loved one
In these unprecedented times we would like to reach out to our clients, colleagues and friends of Humphrey & Co in the event that any of you are faced with dealing with formalities following the passing of a friend or relation whether Covid-19 related or not.
Losing a loved one is never easy but we are able to provide assistance and support to those left trying to handle probate applications or estate administrations regardless of the size or complexity of the estate. Our TESS team are all STEP qualified and would be happy to help you through this difficult time.
If we can be of assistance please email tess@humph.co.uk and either Sue or Amanda will be in contact with you.
Wednesday 15 April 2020
Genuine HMRC contact and recognising phishing emails and texts
Please beware of emails and messages pertaining to be from HMRC. Take extra caution at this time and do not click on links or share personal details. Please talk to us if you want to confirm whether any correspondence is genuine. Find out how to recognise when contact from HMRC is genuine, and how to recognise phishing or bogus emails and text messages by clicking here.
Monday 6 April 2020
Signing of Wills
During this time when social distancing is so important, the signing of Wills or other legal documents that require witnesses needs to be considered.
There is currently no authority to witness such documents remotely. So for Wills, where two witnesses are required, they must both be physically present when the person making the Will (the testator) signs it. This can be done by all three individuals being in a sufficiently large space to observe the social distancing rules. Other measures should be taken such as each party using their own pen to sign the Will.
If a testator is not well enough to sign their Will, they can instruct someone else to sign on their behalf; that could be one of the witnesses, who can either sign their own name or write the testator’s name. If such a situation arises then an amendment will be necessary to the attestation clause at the end of the Will next to the space for the signatures. Clear instructions for the signing process in this situation will have to be issued. A record of this should be maintained and, if possible, a video recording made of the signing process.
Please contact either Sue Pocklington or Amanda Eade on 01323 730631 or email tess@humph.co.uk if assistance is required with Wills or Lasting Powers of Attorney.
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