Earlier this month, on Wednesday 14 February, if you weren't too distracted opening Valentine's Day cards and gifts, you might have turned on the morning news to hear the main story that "UK inflation stays at 4%". We have now had over two years of high inflation exceeding the Government's target of 2%. The Bank of England have hiked the base rate from 0.1% at the end of 2021 to 5.25% at present in an attempt to dampen the economy and curb inflation to the intended level, but inflation remains twice as high as it should be.

The satisfaction of completing tasks on our "to do" list never disappoints. Whether it's completing the Christmas shopping, scheduling an MOT, or booking a haircut—crossing off each task brings a sense of accomplishment. Has reviewing your Will been on your list for some time, but you never seem to get it ticked off? Here are four compelling reasons to prioritise this task:

It is a truth universally acknowledged (by trustees and trust lawyers, anyway) that a trust deed may not always do what they need it to. What, then, are trustees to do?

The 'rules' governing any individual trust are set out in the trust deed. However, trustees sometimes find that they want to do something—often for tax purposes—which the trust deed does not permit. In those circumstances they may wish to 'vary' the terms of the trust.

There are different ways in which this can be done, and these are different in England/Wales and Scotland.

When someone is not able to make their own decisions about their medical care, healthcare professionals will provide treatment that is in the patient's best interests. However, their decisions may not necessarily be what the individual would want. In this article, we look at the two main documents – Advance Decisions and Lasting Powers of Attorney – that individuals can put in place to ensure that their wishes are followed.

Despite rumours in the build up to the Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt made no announcements yesterday about the abolishment, reduction or otherwise of Inheritance Tax. We suspect that there may still be changes afoot, probably to be included when both the Labour and Conservative Parties draw up their election manifestos. For the time being, our message is that it's no change, but watch this space.

In this special edition of The Digest, we focus on four areas in which a future Labour government might shake up the current tax regime and what you can do now to prepare.

Although the next general election could be held as late as January 2025, it is widely expected that it will be called earlier – probably in Autumn 2024. Current opinion polls suggest that it is very likely that the next government will be a Labour one.