Digital Assets And Your Will

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Most people are aware of the importance of making a Will to deal with physical assets. Relatively few of us, however, have probably considered what will become of our digital assets when we die.

What is a digital asset?

A digital asset is one that requires a password and username to access. For example, digitally-stored music collections, social networking sites, and online investment and banking accounts.

What to do?

It may be that dealing with your digital estate is as simple as updating your Will to include a digital assets clause. Thereafter, you should note down your passwords for safekeeping. If your Will is being held by Solicitors, it may be a sensible idea for you to provide them with a copy of this information that will be stored confidentially beside your Will. This is particularly useful if you have also appointed Solicitors as your executors.

Failure to plan for digital inheritance can cause problems as without usernames and passwords it can be very difficult for executors to access web domains, social networking sites and other online accounts. As the executors’ duty is to gather in and administer all of the assets of a deceased’s estate, it is important that they are armed with the necessary information to enable them to do so.

The challenge is therefore  to keep the information up-to-date and hidden yet accessible when the time comes.  It is important to remember that you should not include details of your web-based accounts, passwords and user names in your Will. This is because a Will, once proved, becomes a document of public record and therefore potentially accessible by fraudsters.

For more information, please contact us for expert and friendly advice.

Happy Birthday Sue

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Sue Lawton Practice Manager Adams Harrison

Sue Lawton Practice Manager Adams Harrison

Our Practice Manager Sue Lawton got a surprise on arrival at work – her office had been decorated by the Sawston office staff with banners, balloons and streamers for her birthday, and is pictured with some of the lovely gifts she received.

Adams Harrison Triathlon – October 2015

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Adams Harrison sponsored the Haverhill Triathlon this year in aid of the Haverhill Scouts and Guides, and so we entered three teams for the Sprint+ Relay.

We met up outside the Leisure Centre on a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning, the 4th of October, all a little nervous as none of us have ever done a triathlon before.  Our teams had to do a  600m swim, 45km cycle and a 10k run.   The teams were made up as follows:-

Tri Hards:-

Swimming – Hayley Ford

Cycling – Andy Dedman

Running – Gillian Gilligan

Giving it a Tri:-

Swimming – Tom Pitts

Cycling – Alison Helbert

Running – Simon Gilligan

Tri-Angels:-

Swimming – Lois Revill

Cycling – Sharon Dyster

Running – Rebecca Dedman

All our athletes did extremely well and said that they enjoyed the day (and have even said that they will do it again next year)!  The final results of our three teams were:-

1st place – Tri-Hards with a finishing time of 2:46:15

2nd place – Giving it a Tri with a finishing time of 3:01:25

3rd place – Tri-Angels with a finishing time of 3:20:47.

We met up afterwards in the Drabbit Smock for a well deserved drink where Rhodri Rees (our senior Partner) presented a trophy to the winning team.

Congratulations to all our teams, you did an amazing job!

HMRC Cash Seizure

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The Finance Bill currently in Parliament will authorise HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with the right to seize money directly from the bank accounts of taxpayers who have failed to pay their taxes.

Under the rules, HMRC will be able to take money, but must leave the taxpayer with a minimum of £5,000 in their bank or building society accounts, and can only remove money from accounts containing a minimum £5,000. HMRC will be able to exercise ‘direct enforcement’ to collect tax debts of more than £1,000. It is estimated that this will generate about £100 million a year for the Treasury.

The changes do give the taxpayer the right to object to the County Court, although this may be of little use after the money has been seized.

Inheritance Scams

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Internet scammers are now scamming individuals into responding to emails about receiving unexpected inheritances. The emails claim to give the recipient the opportunity to claim ownerless properties and funds through the ‘Bona Vacantia Division.’

As a result of such scams, the Bona Vacantia Division (BV Division)  has recently issued a warning:-

‘Neither Government Legal Department (GLD) nor BV Division will ever issue emails making such offers. If you receive such an email, you should treat it with suspicion. We would recommend that you do not respond to any such offer, do not click on any links in the email and report it as spam to your internet service provider or to Action Fraud’.

If you do receive an email that you think might be a scam it is therefore important not to reply to the email.

For further information please call your nearest office for expert and professional advice.

Equality and Diversity Information

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Adam’s Harrison have completed an Equality and Diversity questionnaire as as required by the Law Society.

If anyone would like to see a copy of the Equality & Diversity data this can be obtained by applying to [email protected]

EACH Colour Dash

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Adams Harrison were one of the sponsors of the first Essex East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) Colour Dash, held at Audley End on 6th September 2015. 

We had a wonderful time, got very messy, but this is the team photo before we took off and were all looking pristine!

Adams Harrison EACH Colour Dash 6 Sep 15

Adams Harrison EACH Colour Dash 6 Sep 15

To find out more about EACH please like ther Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter. 

We were delighted to receive a “thank you” card from EACH for our efforts.

Adams Harrison EACH Colour Dash Thankyou card

Changes To The Law On Wills And Intestacy

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The Inheritance and Trustees Powers Act 2014 came into force in October 2014 and made a number of changes to the law on wills and intestacy.

Intestacy arises when somebody dies without having made a Will. If you die intestate then the law will state what will happen to your Estate rather than you.

If your circumstances are not straightforward, for example, you may have children from a previous marriage, it is all the more important to make a Will.  If you do not have a Will in place, you should consider whether you would be happy for your estate to be distributed in line with the new Intestacy Rules.

In many cases, a Will is needed to restore balance between competing obligations and responsibilities for which a person is often seeking to provide when they write a Will.

For more information, please contact our Private Client department for expert and professional advice.

Adams Harrison Sponsors Haverhill Triathalon

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Adams Harrison HaverTri Sponsorship Jenny Carpenter and Jack Tappin

Jenny Carpenter, managing partner of Adams Harrison Solicitors, with HaverSports director Jack Tappin.

Haverhill’s triathlon has proud new sponsors in the shape of local solicitors Adams Harrison.

The company is the flagship sponsor of HaverTri, which is being held on Sunday 4 October at Haverhill Leisure Centre after attracting close to 200 triathletes to Haverhill for last year’s inaugural event.

HaverSports is also hosting Haverhill’s first duathlon to simultaneously with the triathlon, with both events raising money for Haverhill Scouts and Guides and being licensed by British Triathlon Federation.

HaverSports director Jack Tappin said: “After last year proved the popularity of triathlon last year I’m hoping to build on the foundation of success and grow HaverTri further this year, particularly with the addition of HaverDua to get those who complain about swimming taking part!

“It’s great that there are businesses like Adams Harrison in Haverhill that are committed to realising athletics events in the town, and I look forward to working with them to deliver another excellent event for Haverhill.”

Adams Harrison Solicitors has entered three relay teams to the Sprint+ race as employees look to show that they can go the distance.

Jenny Carpenter, managing partner at Adams Harrison Solicitors, said: “HaverSports has shown how popular athletics events are to Haverhill and we look forward to seeing hundreds swim, cycle and run round the town in October.

“We’re proud to be supporting HaverTri and realise how important it is for people to keep active while promoting the growth of community events.”

Duncan Batty, group Scout leader at 1st Haverhill, added: “Last year’s HaverTri delivered a welcome boost to our aim of funding new facilities so the children of Haverhill can continue to enjoy Scouting and Guiding. We look forward to seeing even more take part this year in this great community event, as community involvement is what we’re all about.”

You can get full details on HaverHalf and enter here: http://www.entrycentral.com/havertri2015

Adams Harrison HaverTri Sponsorship Group Picture

Jenny Carpenter, managing partner of Adams Harrison Solicitors, with HaverSports director Jack Tappin and 2nd Haverhill Sea Scout leaders Monica Reed (left) and Kerry Meek with members of their troop who will among the beneficiaries of HaverTri 2015

Daughter Rejected By Mother In Will Wins £164k Inheritance

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When Mrs Jackson died in 2004 she deliberately excluded her daughter from her Will and left her estate to animal charities with which she had little connection.  In a surprising decision the Court of Appeal has, however, awarded the daughter a substantial settlement from her mother’s estate. This case could prove to be a landmark ruling and will no doubt come as unwelcome news to anyone keen to disinherit a family member in similar circumstances.

The court heard that Mrs Jackson’s daughter, Heather Ilott, eloped at the age of 17 with her boyfriend and, as a result, her mother had never forgiven her. Mrs Jackson made her last will in 2002 with a letter to explain why she had disinherited her only daughter, referring to the fact she had walked out of her home in 1978 to live with her boyfriend.

When her mother passed away, Ms Ilott brought a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. This Act allows someone who was dependent on a person who has died to claim against their estate for ‘reasonable financial provision’ to be made if such provision has not been made for them in the deceased’s will. Ms Ilott successfully persuaded the Court that the absence of provision was ‘unreasonable’. This was surprising considering the two women had had no contact for years.

The factors which may have influenced the Court’s decision include the fact Ms Ilott is dependent on state benefits.  Furthermore, Ms Ilott was also totally excluded from the Will with one judge describing her mother’s decision as ‘harsh, unreasonable and capricious’.

If you are in any doubt about how to write a legally enforceable will then please contact us today and avoid any future problems.