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Wills & Probate

Wills

However old or young, it is important that you give consideration to making a Will.  You should make a Will and review it regularly, particularly if your circumstances change, such as when you get married, enter a civil partnership, have children or get divorced. (It is important to note that marriage/civil partnership invalidates any previously made Will). 

We can prepare your will for you.

The main reason for writing your Will is to ensure that those whom you wish to benefit after your death will do so. If you don’t make a Will you are said to have died intestate. Under intestacy rules the people to whom you would like to leave your estate may receive little, or nothing at all, and others may benefit whom you did not wish to do so.  A further reason is to minimise or avoid the payment of Inheritance Tax (IHT). When it is payable on an estate, IHT amounts to 40% of the value of the assets which exceed the tax threshold.

There are some simple things that can be done during your lifetime and under your Will, to reduce or negate any Inheritance Tax liability.

We can evaluate your estate for you and provide estate and tax planning advice.

If you have children then it is possible to appoint guardians who will be responsible for your children's upbringing if neither parent is alive.

You can appoint someone you trust to look after your assets until the children become old enough to take responsibility for themselves (your trustees).

We can advise you about appointing Guardians or creating trusts in your Will.

Your Will can be prepared quickly and we will charge you from just £125 plus VAT for a straightforward Will, and if you and your partner create identical Wills (mirror Wills) you will get the pair at a reduced rate.

Estate and Tax Planning

Inheritance Tax  may be payable when you die but what you do in life may reduce the amount  your estate has to pay.  Simply giving away all your assets away before you die will avoid the tax but may not always be the most prudent and tax efficient course of action.

We can provide advice on Inheritance Tax exemptions (such as the Nil Rate Band, transfers between spouses/civil partners, certain gifts) and on Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs). 

Trusts

We can advise you on the setting up and administration of trusts.  These are a very useful, if sometimes complex, legal way of giving your money, property or shares, to others, whilst ensuring that you, or others that you trust (hence the name), retain some control over what happens to those assets.

Trusts are frequently used to avoid paying unnecessary Inheritance Tax, or for helping to solve long-term family or domestic situations, such as giving money to children or grandchildren, but at an age when they can be considered to be responsible.

We can either create a formal trust deed while you are alive, usually referred to as a "settlement", or we can create a trust on your death in your Will (a "Will Trust"). Whichever method is used the document will set out what is being given away, who is going to look after it (the "trustees" - who can include yourself in lifetime trusts), who is to benefit from the gift (the "beneficiaries"), and any rules that the trustees must follow when looking after the assets - for example what they can and cannot invest in; how the capital and income can be spent; and how long the trust is to go on for.

Lasting  Power of Attorney

Many of us are concerned about providing for care in old age and ensuring that our affairs are looked after properly by someone we know and trust, and it is important that the appropriate person is properly appointed in good time.

Where these arrangements have not been possible in time, receivership under the Public Guardianship Office is the appropriate alternative but it involves a more detailed and costly procedure.

We can guide you through the detailed process of creating a Lasting Power of Attorney and prepare the required documentation

Probate

After a person has died the law insists that someone takes responsibility for all their worldly possessions, and ensures that they are passed on to their new owners.

The person, or more usually the people (there can be up to four), who takes on the task is called the deceased’s Personal Representative.   In a Will they are usually named as the executors.   If there is no Will they are referred to as the administrators.

We can handle the probate process for you.  This includes :

• Obtaining authority from the Probate Registry to administer the estate

• Paying any Inheritance Tax due

• Distributing the balance of the estate to those who are entitled (the beneficiaries)

We will be pleased to provide sympathetic and expert guidance to ensure that the estate is wound up efficiently and effectively, with the minimum of delay.

For more information please contact:

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