Elderly Client Conference at Scots Law 2022

With the remaining Covid restrictions falling away, the legal profession can turn its principal focus back to the business and practice of law under more normal circumstances.

Our next Scots Law series, Getting Back to Business, reflects this shift by providing an analysis of practical, statutory and caselaw developments in eight key practice areas that will help you offer best advice to your clients.

This year’s online conference will look at the key aspects of advising elder clients including later life tax planning, preparing for residential care and the issues arising with homemade wills.  The likely impact of the Trusts (Scotland) Bill, the latest adults with incapacity developments and insurance and bonds of caution will also be considered.

Incorporating a contentious executries update, we look forward to welcoming you to this important conference chaired by John Kerrigan. Questions to be considered will include:

• what do you need to be alert to in relation to adults with incapacity?
• how can the cost of care currently be funded?
• how might homemade wills be interpreted?
• what are the likely implications of the Trusts (Scotland) Bill?
• what can we learn from the most important recent contentious executries cases?
  
• what are the types of insurance available when dealing with an executry?
• what are the Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax opportunities and risks to consider in later life tax planning?

Homemade wills – problems and solutions?

Many clients still engage in making their own wills. This is particularly so amongst elderly clients who either do not trust or do not feel that they can afford to pay a professional fee for a will – when they know what they want (or so they think). In this session John Kerrigan will consider: the problems arising from homemade wills; how such wills might fall to be interpreted; whether they are valid wills in the first place; and how the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 can assist in such cases.

John Kerrigan, Blackadders

Adults with incapacity latest

As an independent consultant on adults with incapacity matters Sandra will give you a flavour of the sort of things that have been crossing her desk since she last spoke to you, as well as what’s on the horizon for you to be alert to. A melange of all things AWI.

Sandra McDonald, EX-PG

Later life tax planning

This session will provide an overview of Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax opportunities and risks, consider tax advice for lifetime and will planning and look at charity tax aspects.

Chris Sheldon, Turcan Connell

Care fees planning and the family home

With the economic downturn and cost of living crisis hitting hard, how to provide for the care needs of an ageing population have been drawn sharply into focus. This session will look at the current issues for those intending on staying at a residential care home and will consider the cost of care, how it can be funded, whether the family home always has to be sold and what planning opportunities exist.

John Peutherer, Anderson Strathern

Trusts (Scotland) Bill - worth the wait?

In this session we will consider the genesis of the Trusts (Scotland) Bill and where it currently stands, together with a discussion on some of the key issues faced in practice for trust practitioners.  This will include issues where trustees, settlors or protectors lack capacity, and a review of the proposed changes from the Bill and whether it will help or hinder!

Sarah-Jane Macdonald, Gillespie Macandrew

Insurance and bonds of caution

This presentation will provide an overview of the types of insurance available when dealing with an executry. Including how to satisfy insurers requirements and common pitfalls that can present themselves when arranging insurance. We will also discuss how Bonds of Caution fit in with the process and the help available in arranging these on an executry. 

Simon Barber, Title Research

Contentious executries – some recent cases

Six recent key decisions will be considered:

• Proving the tenor: Where there was a will there is a way (W v W)
• Rectification: righting the unread? (Finnie v McClure)
• Petitions for directions: what (if anything) can private client practitioners learn from pension trustees? (Plumbing Pensions (UK) Ltd., Petitioner)
• Title to sue: why the puzzle? (Riddell’s Executor v Arcus Solutions (Holdings) Ltd.)
• Troublesome transfers:  crofts (Pattinson v Miller)
• Trustee: going solo? (Royal Bank of Scotland Plc , Petitioners)

Nick Holroyd, Terra Firma Chambers

This event is sponsored by Title Research