These are an excellent source of background material for those who want to really get to know about the issues affecting them. Written by our Wills, family & wealth specialists, they give real insight, helping you understand what's going on.
A worrying number of woman are left in dire straits when their husband dies without making a will.
The popular BBC series 'Heir Hunters' has been a huge success and viewers have been fascinated by stories of unexpected inheritances.
Research conducted by the Legal Services Board (LSB) broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 'Today' programme on April 23rd showed that 20% of wills contained mistakes.
Why don't we make a will? Is it too depressing? Are we in denial or is it because it all seems terribly complicated?
Popular TV Series Downton Abbey based on the fictional Earl of Grantham, his family and servant's shows life on a large estate in the early 1900s and the perils of the First World War.
The subject of Inheritance Tax - the tax paid on your estate following your death - tends to inspire strong feelings in people.
Few of us like to consider our mortality. Even fewer would be happy knowing that should we fail to make a will, when we die those we love won't automatically get what we might wish them to.
When the time comes for a parent to arrange for the division and distribution of the family estate, the family home will often constitute the most valuable asset.
When someone (a testator) makes a will, they must have mental capacity to do so.The reading of the will may provoke disappointment if expectations of those hoping to inherit aren't met. This may beg the question of the testator: What were they thinking?
A storyline in ITV's popular Emmerdale show concerning a character's planned suicide assisted by his mother is not only emotive but raises several current issues.
In 1948 the then Labour Government introduced the National Health Service (NHS) and some 60 years later, for all its problems, the NHS Service is still going strong - but it was not the only part of the then Government's mandate to provide care for all.
Many parents are keen to leave all their children with an equal inheritance. But what if the needs of one child are greater than the others? Whether they're medical needs, care needs, or accommodation, it can feel like an impossible problem to solve.
The most senior family judge has called for a change in the law to create legal rights and duties for unmarried couples.
A surprising number of business partners make no plans about what should happen with the business should any of them pass away.
Death is a subject many people find difficult to talk about and one which they spend their life avoiding. So when someone dies, it's hard to know where to start to sort out their affairs.
When most people make a will their main concern is about where their assets will go. But what will happen to your children?
The death of a family member or a close friend is one or the worst experiences of our lives and the grief can seem impossible to cope with.
Deciding how much to leave to those you care about once you're gone is a big worry for many of us. Our first recommendation is not to let these worries get the better of you; there's often a solution, but you need to get the right advice
No one can foresee the future. Sadly, mental or physical incapacity can literally occur overnight, maybe a result of a stroke, accident or illness.
More people than ever before own their own homes, and while an increasing number of single people are home owners, most properties are owned by couples.
Many people put off making a will because they're worried their wishes may show favouritism if they leave a bigger share to one person - or leave someone out altogether - and cause a family rift following their death.
Making a will can often be a daunting prospect. We don't like to think about our death and the impact it'll have on our nearest and dearest, so we often don't know where to start when planning who'll inherit what.
Late last month the country's senior civil judge in the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Dr Christine Gill, who had contested her mother's estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Tax professionals are welcoming the Government's announcement that it will provide advance warning of new tax measures ahead of next year's Budget.
The Government's Comprehensive Spending Review revealed that the Ministry of Justice's budget is to be cut by 23% over the next four years.
The son and daughter of the late Charles Napier are in dispute with their late father's girlfriend over his estate.
On 20 October 2010, the UK Supreme Court ruled that English courts should enforce pre-nuptial agreements as long as they're fair.
More than one in four people aged 60 and over feels at least 20 years younger than their real age, according to the Retirement Nation 2010 survey from retirement income specialist MGM Advantage.
Access Legal from Shoosmiths has helped develop a new service for solicitors administering the estates of people who've died.
Dr Christine Gill's parents both made wills in 1993, which provided that the first of them to die would leave their estate to the survivor and that the second of them to die would leave the combined estates, valued at more than £2m, to the RSPCA.
Most people think of elder abuse as being physical, but emotional and financial abuse are just as devastating to the lives of older people.
Mrs Arnold set up a discretionary trust in 1995 aged 53, and later that year took out a pension plan under which she could start drawing her pension any time between her 50th and 75th birthdays.
Wine portfolios are becoming a popular way of investing money and are often marketed as 'tax free lump sums' that mature at a specific time in the future.
John Adams, aged 58, was forced to leave his home following his wife's death because of an ambiguous clause in her DIY will.
Research by retirement income specialists MGM Advantage reveals that of Britain's largest 20 cities, Cardiff is the cheapest place to retire.
Homemade wills are leading to an increase in the number of fraud allegations. Figures released by the Court Service showed that the number of High Court cases involving disputed wills rose 175%.
Elderly sisters Ethel Wilson and Mabel Cook lived together following the deaths of both their husbands in the 1970s.
Following last night's Panorama programme, Wills – The Final Rip Off, individuals are urged to double check that the will they have in place has been prepared by someone who is suitably qualified, insured and regulated.
There are a number of tax issues thrown up by the Emergency Budget on 22 June that will affect you. Here we look at the key ones, and at how they're likely to have an impact.
Had it been elected, part of the Conservative party's manifesto was to raise the Inheritance Tax threshold from the present £325,000 to £1m.
A lost Will might as well have never been made. We get many phone calls from relatives who are experiencing difficulties finding the Will of their loved ones.
A mother aged 70 died leaving nearly £490,000 to two charities and nothing to her daughter and five grandchildren.
There have been a number of cases where HM Revenue and Customs have levied penalties against executors for delivering an incorrect inheritance tax account.
Legal rules about promises made during someone's liftetime - and whether they are valid after death - have been clarified by a House of Lords decision.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 clarifies the rules on who are the legal parents of an artificially conceived child.
A valuable relief, and one that has remained unchanged for many years, is principal private residence relief (PPR).
News of a breakthrough drug treatment for Alzheimer's Disease is very welcome, especially in light of new statistics highlighting an increase in UK dementia cases.
