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Inheritance tax is paid on estates worth more than £325,000. However, if 10% of an estate above this limit is given to charity the rate of inheritance tax payable on the balance is to be cut from 40% to 36% from next April.

I received a call from a friend at the BBC this week who wanted a live interview on the regulation of will writing.

It's becoming clear that the Government's proposal to reduce inheritance tax where 10% of an estate is left to charity could reduce lifetime giving. A couple of major charities I've spoken to are becoming increasingly worried. They might be left more money in wills potentially but at the expense of cash now. Maybe the Government will need to re-think it's proposal which is widely acknowledged as very complicated.

I recently spoke to the business editor at the Horsham Resident to help raise awareness about how beneficial having a power of attorney can be for many people. Giving power of attorney to someone you trust is something everyone should think about, it really provides peace of mind once it is arranged.

The national media recently highlighted that a high number of people across the UK are without a will and you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. At Spofforths we produce and update wills for clients and can see the benefits first hand. Clients enjoy the peace of mind that having a will provides and the knowledge that it will help prevent disputes in the future. We all have the power to decide what happens to our property, possessions and assets after we die. It’s really important that you don’t leave writing a will until old age, so act now and make sure your assets are left to those you love.

It is important to make a will whether or not you think you have valuable possessions or much money. Why - because the rules for the distribution of assets where no will exists are complex, costly to implement and are unlikely to reflect what you want to happen.

Back in 1978 I had just qualified as a lawyer . My first clients were Mr & Mrs Chessman who wanted wills drawn up . You can imagine my amazement, when 34 years on, the Chessman’s managed to track me down to request some updates to their wills. When I first met the Chessman's I was working with another firm in Horsham and didn’t join Spofforths until 2009. The Chessman’s were able to find me by searching online and this proves how powerful the Internet is today. It is wonderful to be reunited with my first ever clients once again and I'm chuffed to bits they tracked me down.

A very respected charity has just revealed that one in three people with a Will have admitted it is out of date and needs amending. In money terms, this means that over £1.1 trillion of assets could be at risk of ending up in the wrong hands. What a frightening thought! We remind all our clients to dust off their Wills and check that they are still up to date after as little as three years. What were you doing three years ago? The top five major life events are marriage, divorce, an addition to the family, the death of a family member and cohabitation. Have any of these occurred to you during that period? These are but a few of the major life events which might cause us all to think about updating our Wills.

It has long been the case that any money left to charity by a Will is free of Inheritance Tax. For anyone passing away after 6 April 2012 a lower general rate of Inheritance Tax of 36% is to be applied to an Estate where 10% or more of the 'net Estate' is left to charity. Broadly speaking, the net value of an Estate will be the assets less the deceased's available Nil-Rate Band and any other non-charitable exemptions and reliefs, such as Spouse exemption or Business Property/Agricultural Property Relief.