“HMRC has issued a consultation document about whether there may be options for simplifying the calculation of Inheritance Tax charges to which trusts are subjected at ten-yearly intervals and when property is withdrawn from trust.”
More on this can be found here.
“There is a waiting period before your power of attorney (PoA) can be processed and returned to you.
If there is a genuine urgency, we will expedite the registration of a PoA ‘on cause shown’. We ask that people respect this service and only use it in cases of true urgency to avoid defeating its purpose.”
More on this can be found here.
Statement from the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland).
“30 May 2014
OPG Guidance Note – Powers of Attorney
Your attention is drawn to the Public Guardian’s guidance note in relation to the validity of powers of attorney following the recent judgement by Sheriff Baird.” The guidance note can be found here.
A statement from the Law Society of Scotland can also be found here.
The Crown Office has used the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to confiscate a £2,000 legacy on the grounds that the recipient would have used it for unlawful activity.
More on this from Scottish Legal News can be found here.
The background to this case is a family dispute. The dispute is over where the body of Private Mark Connolly will be buried. MC’s mother wishes to have him buried in Methil. His widow wishes him to be buried in Forfar. The dispute has now lasted three years.
This matter has reached court once again, this time Forfar Sheriff Court. A newspaper report on the latest proceedings can be found here.
My original report on this matter from 13 September 2011 can be found here.
“Turnaround Time for Account Reviews
There is currently a 17 – 20 week waiting period for accounts to be reviewed. We apologise for any inconvenience the delay may cause financial guardians.
The Account Review Team are currently working with accounts received on and around 13th January 2014. Financial guardians who have queries regarding their accounts or the waiting time may contact opgreviewteam@scotcourts.gov.uk.”
“General correspondence
It is our aim to process general mail within 5 working days. Regrettably we are currently unable to meet this target due to the volume of priority work waiting to be processed. We apologise for any inconvenience the delay may cause.
If you are contacting us regarding an urgent matter and require immediate assistance, please telephone us on 01324 678300.”
“Update on Power of Attorney Submissions
There is a waiting period before your power of attorney (PoA) can be processed and returned to you.
If there is a genuine urgency, we will expedite the registration of a PoA ‘on cause shown’. We ask that people respect this service and only use it in cases of true urgency to avoid defeating its purpose.”
More on this can be found here.
The England and Wales High Court has allowed the rectification of a deed of variation thus removing an avoidable inheritance tax liability of approximately £250,000. The issue was that much of the estate in question was left to an elderly relative rather to a number of charities. That is why there was an avoidable inheritance tax liability.
This is from the judgement: “In the light of the matters discussed above I consider that the criteria for rectifying the Deed of Variation so that it reflects the clear intention of the Claimant at the time it was made, are satisfied, and that in all the circumstances it is right to grant the relief.”
The rectification was unopposed.
The full case report can be found here.
The April 2014 edition of HMRC’s Trusts & Estates newsletter for trusts and estates practitioners can be found here.
The Upper Tax Tribunal has ruled that it is not bound by precedent set by the England & Wales High Court.
This means that it accepted HMRC’s plea that the prior case of Pierce v Wood was wrongly decided with the result that the disposal of scrip dividend shares by the discretionary trust in question is liable to the ten-year inheritance tax charge.
The full report can be found here.
“23 April 2014
Power of Attorney (PoA) Update – Manual Submissions
There is currently a 12 week waiting period before your PoA can be processed and returned to you. This week we will be working on PoAs received on and around 27th January 2014.
If there is a genuine urgency, we will expedite the registration of a PoA ‘on cause shown’. We ask that people respect this service and only use it in cases of true urgency to avoid defeating its purpose.”
More on this can be found here.
