Will Reviews

The importance of getting a will review

As a rule of thumb, you should review your will every 5 years or so, even if you don't think your circumstances have changed significantly. This will enable us to check that it still accurately reflects the way you would like your estate to be distributed after you die, and take advantage of advice on IHT estate planning

• Why do I need a Will?

20 Reasons To Have a Will, Trust or Power of Attorney

1. Name guardians within your will to ensure that your choice of who you want to look after your children is legally binding should the worse happen
2. Protect your childrens inheritance with a will trust
3. Make sure your unmarried partner is provided for by writing a will
4. Ensure your business is passed to your loved ones within your will.
5. Review an old will that you drafted years ago.
6. Set up a will trust to protect from potential future care fees.
7. Remarry but protect your childrens future inheritance.
8. Make sure your loved ones can make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity, allowing them to speak on your behalf to banks, utility companies and other financial organisations, care homes, social services and doctors.
9. Reduce your inheritance tax liability with a full financial planning audit.
10. Protect your vulnerable child and make sure they do not lose their benefits by setting up a trust to provide for them after you have gone.
11. Protect your home or assets to ensure that your children receive their inheritance
12. Pass property to your spouse through your will, because currently it is in your name ( only the first £270,000 goes directly toy your spouse if no will is n place)
13. Exclude family members because of fall outs and mis-treatment and make sure they cannot make claim.
14. Keep your business running if mental capacity is lost ( you can name attorneys just for business purposes only)
15. Set up a trust to negate the risk of claims being made by excluded family members on your estate after your death.
16. Make sure that your partner receives the assets that you actually want them to ( co-habiting couples have no legal right to each others assets)
17. Change your will if you are going through a divorce or are now divorced, to make sure the correct loved ones inherit,
18. Ensure that named beneficiaries benefit from your estate.
19. Name charitable organizations to benefit from your will and estate.
20. Have peace of mind knowing that you have done everything within your power to ensure your loved ones are looked after.

Lasting Power of Attorney

We always encourage our clients to review their wills, as their own circumstances may have changed since they last prepared them. So often we find that wills are written in isolation, they do not take account of a person’s family situation and they're written without any thought to pending tax changes.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legally binding document which allows an individual to assign decision-making autonomy to a trusted person – often a family member, spouse, friend or a known individual relied upon to make sound and informed decisions on their behalf if they are not able to do so.

There are actually two recognised types of LPAs:

1) Health and Welfare

2) Property and Financial

You can have one or both LPAs in place at the same time. When it comes to later life planning, most people choose to get both types of LPA. This ensures that all the bases are covered, should mental capacity be lost in the future.

Health And Welfare LPA

A health and welfare LPA can only be used when you’re unable to make your own decisions. This LPA can be used to give an attorney the power to make decisions about things like:

• - Your daily routine - washing, dressing, eating etc.
• - Your medical care
• - When to move into a care home
• - Life-sustaining treatment

Property And Financial Affairs LPA

Use this LPA to give an attorney the power to make decisions about your money and property such as:

• - Managing your bank or building society account(s)
• - Collecting your benefits or pension
• - Paying your bills
• - Selling your home

A property and financial affairs LPA can be used as soon as it’s registered, with your permission. If later then you can decide the criteria for when this will be.

Estate Planning

Protecting You and Your Loved Ones

It can be easy to put these important things off, which could cause problems for your loved ones after you’re gone. Act now and get peace of mind that your wishes will be respected.

We'll help make the process hassle-free, offering you personalised guidance over the phone or by video call, daytime or evenings. Our experienced team will do all the hard work for you, explaining everything in plain English.

Benefits of Good Estate Planning

Benefits of good estate planning include:

• - Potentially reducing your inheritance tax liability.
• - Protecting assets for your spouse and enabling them to withdraw income.
• - Preventing your children or individuals from inheriting property outright when they may not be in a position to manage their affairs responsibly but allowing them an income stream.
• - Preserving family assets for your children and grandchildren in the event of divorce.
• - Preventing future generations from paying inheritance tax on your assets.
• - Bloodline protection - making sure that your children and grandchildren are protected from creditors or the social impact of divorce.

Trusts

Control your assets, minimise tax payments, protect your legacy and look after your loved ones.

Probate

Probate is the process of dealing with the estate of someone who has died,which generally means clearing their debts and distributing their assets in accordance with their will.

Technically, 'probate' refers to getting permission to carry out the wishes within someone's will, though the term also applies to the whole process of settling someone's estate. 

If you're responsible for executing someone's will, there are specific rules that set out how you notify the authorities and distribute the estate.

Estate Administration

Following a bereavement, there are a number of tasks to be considered and completed. These tasks are not always straightforward and can include dealing with difficult legal and tax affairs. We understand that this can make an already difficult time even more stressful. 

The process of dealing with the affairs of someone who has died is known as estate administration. 

Funeral Plans

At its simplest, a funeral plan allows you to pay upfront for your funeral so your relatives dont have to cover the costs themselves, Since funerals are often expensive, paying in advance can bring you some peace of mind, Also, a funeral plan will ease the emotional and financial burden on your family, This is your opportunity to leave them to grieve in peace.

Our funeral planning representative can help you with the reassurance that with the new FCA regulations you are in safe hands.With a choice of plans to suit your needs, there will be a plan bespoke to you.

Care Planning

Social care isn't free, so you will need to pay for some of your care. We can help you work out how much it might cost, how to pay and what to do if you're worried about the costs of your care.

The two most important things to be aware of:

1. Social care is rarely free. More often than not you'll have to contribute to the cost of care. The amount you pay depends on the level of need and the amount of assets you have.
2. You should get an assessment of needs from your local council immediately. This helps to decide the level of your need.