Solicitors give last rites to ban

The Law Society has secured an agreement with British Bankers Association, the Building Societies Association and the Association of British Insurers to circumvent a government ban - introduced two years ago - preventing copies of death certificates being used in probate and conveyancing transactions.

The ban addressed fears that copies could be used to obtain false identity documents.

But applying for office copies of certificates is time- consuming and expensive.

The agreement means that solicitors can avoid sending original certificates for each matter, instead sending a death certificate verification form, giving a guarantee that they possess and have inspected an original.

Richard Ford, chairman of the Society's wills and equity committee, said it meant banks and building societies would be able to release information which would hasten the grant of probate.

Meanwhile, solicitors are backing a 'Remember a Charity' campaign, which will last two years and is backed by 80 charities with the aim of increasing the number of people who leave charitable gifts in their wills.

Research carried out among 200 solicitors for the campaign found that 48% of clients were poorly prepared to write their wills, and 17% mention charitable giving when discussing wills with their solicitors.

More than half the solicitors surveyed said that they were open to the idea of mentioning charitable giving to their clients, and 60% supported the campaign.

Other research has shown that 54% of people are unaware that such gifts are tax-exempt.

Charles Gordon, senior partner of Farnborough-based Foster Savage & Gordon and a member of the Law Society committee, said he would certainly support the campaign.

But he warned that there were some difficulties for solicitors in pointing out tax-free status of gifts: 'As many estates are not taxable, because they are not of sufficient value, there is no difference between the tax status of charitable gifts and ordinary gifts left to families.

It is important for solicitors not to mislead clients on this.'

Campaign director Theresa Dauncey said: 'We're just asking solicitors to advise clients that gifts are tax-free when appropriate.'

Jeremy Fleming