This Blog was updated on 26/11/2018 – for latest developments, please see the update at the end of the article below. The government has announced amendments to the procedure for applying for probate in England and Wales, with less than a month’s notice. The Statutory Instrument (The Non-Contentious Probate (Amendment) Rules 2018) will come into… Read More Government changes E&W probate procedure without consultation
Update 13 Nov: Please see the Statutory Instrument timeframe below. Original blog: The UK government has re-introduced proposals to fund the courts service via charging higher probate fees. The proposals emerged late yesterday (5 Nov 18), a week after the budget. While the headline charges are less extortionate than were proposed last year, for an estate… Read More The death tax returns
Update: STEP News 1 Nov: UK revises anti-organised crime strategy to target professional ‘facilitators’ Original blog: Ben Wallace MP, UK Minister of State for Security at the Home Office, has called for more to be done to make lawyers and accountants who facilitate money laundering recognise their responsibilities. As part of a House of Commons… Read More The new gatekeepers of the financial system
UK Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the final budget before the UK leaves the EU yesterday. Here are some of the key measures that may affect STEP members. Individuals Income tax: the personal allowance threshold, the rate at which people start paying income tax at 20 per cent, is to rise from GBP11,850 to GBP12,500 in… Read More How will the UK budget affect STEP members?
STEP marked World Mental Health Day on 10 October with The Capacity Conversation: Best Practice, an event hosted by the Employer Partnership team and the Mental Capacity Special Interest Group in London. Simon Hardy TEP of Kingsley Napley explained that clients need to plan for loss of capacity, but many have not done so. While… Read More Addressing mental health in the workplace
STEP’s Isle of Man branch has flagged potential issues raised by the UK Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/692) (the Regulations) which give effect to the requirement of the EU Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive to have a central register of trusts, and reporting obligations on trustees.… Read More Do UK money laundering regs extend to trusts in other jurisdictions?
We’ve just returned from the STEP Global Congress in Vancouver – what a great event it was, reports Nigel Race. Congress kicked off with two excellent keynote sessions on the theme of change: ‘Change has changed’, which was focused on change in the individual practitioner; and ‘Serving the New Clientele’, which looked at cultural types… Read More Employer partners gather at STEP Global Congress
Even though the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May this year in the UK there is still widespread confusion around its application to the private client industry. STEP has formed a Data Protection Impact Group with the objective of reviewing the GDPR’s impact in relation to the trust and… Read More GDPR – Invitation to Members
STEP has received an unprecedented number of enquiries regarding Mr Steven Long and the companies of which he is a Director, namely Universal Tax Solutions of Dencora House, 34 White House Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 5LT, which traded as Universal Wealth Preservation. Associated companies include Universal Asset Protection Ltd and Universal Trustees Ltd. Mr Steven… Read More Are you a client of Universal Wealth Preservation?
It’s been a busy few months at STEP. Our public-facing website advisingfamilies.org marked its first birthday on 22 May. Launched as part of a wider campaign to raise public awareness of STEP and TEPs, the site has clocked up over 130,000 visits, and over 700 followers on social media. Members and their firms have done… Read More What’s been happening at STEP in England and Wales?
The STEP Blog 