Gamlins Wills & Probate Blog

Selfie shots signal end to informal financial management   International payment processor Visa is launching a platform to allow banks to integrate biometric security that will use selfies, fingerprints or voice records to approve purchases in the drive against fraud. In the first six months of 2017, over £500 million in attempted card fraud was prevented, with actual fraud losses coming in at just under £290 million 1 .   And while the figures were 11% lower than the same period in 2016, following coordinated action by financial institutions and the police, tackling fraud remains a top priority for the sector. As well as hitting the fraudster, the increased use of biometric identification will also affect those who allow family or friends to informally manage their financial affairs, and professionals are encouraging everyone to get formal arrangements in place, that can work alongside such safeguards.   Said Ben Talbot with   Gamlins Law:  ...

The law in relation to Wills in England and Wales has remained relatively unchanged for the last 200 years. However over the last few months the Law Commission have undertaken a review, to which Gamlins Law have contributed, as to whether the law should be changed.   Currently in order to prepare a valid Will, a person must satisfy the following criteria as set in the case of Banks v Goodfellow (1869-70):   -           They must understand the nature of a Will and its effects -           They must understand the extent of the property they are disposing under the Will -           They must be aware of the persons they should consider providing for in making their Will   Further in order for the Will to be valid it must comply with the Wills Act 1837 in that the Will must be in writing, signed in the presence of ...

Care Home Fee Myths   There are a number of myths regarding people’s responsibilities to fund care costs and ways of avoiding having to pay for care in the future.   Unfortunately, as the population is getting older, the chance of people having to go into care in the future is growing. People are understandably keen to avoid paying care costs where possible, however there are a number of myths regarding care costs which could lead to you making a bad decision regarding your finances.   1.        If I give my property to my children I won’t be responsible for my care fees This is not true. Where you give away assets with the aim of avoiding paying care costs, the transaction is challengeable by the Local Authority as a “Deliberate Deprivation of Assets”, which means you have deprived yourself of the asset with the sole aim of avoiding paying the costs of care.   The Local Authority can challenge the transfer...