Wills & Estate Planning
Will Writing
Without a valid Last Will and Testament your assets will be distributed according to the rules of Intestacy.
The rules of Intestacy lay down a rigid method of estate distribution and make no account for your wishes.
Married Couples - Without a Will, it is not certain that your spouse will inherit all your assets.
Unmarried Couples - Without a Will your partner may not receive anything! Your entire estate will probably be divided between your children; if you don't have any children then your assets will be shared between your relatives.
Divorced or Separated - Make it clear whether you do/don't want your 'ex-spouse' to benefit from your estate.
Parents of Young Children - By making a Will you can ensure that the Courts are aware of who you wish to care for your children in the event of your death. You can also decide at what age you wish your children to receive their inheritance (whether this be 18, 21 or 25).
Planning for Long Term Care
As many as 70,000 homes were sold in a recent 12 month period to fund long term care.
With people living longer the issue of funding long term care is only going to get worse. Believe it or not it is illegal to deliberately deprive yourself of an asset to avoid paying care fees and so a simple transfer of ownership to a son or daughter will not suffice.
If you plan in advance it is possible for you and your partner to make provisions for your half share of the property in your Will. This means that if one co-owner dies their half share of the property can go into trust for the benefit of their children whilst giving their partner occupancy rights. This way the deceased's share of the property will not go towards paying the care fees of the survivor, we call this a Protective Property Trust Will.
Mitigating Inheritance Tax
If your assets are valued at over £300,000 (the current Nil Rate Band) when you die you will be liable to pay Inheritance Tax at a rate of 40%.
Recent changes allow your Nil Rate Band allowance to be 'carried over' to your spouse or registered Civil Partner (assuming no chargeable transfers are made) meaning on current thresholds a total of £600,000 can be distributed tax free.
However, for many this is 'the tax cut that never was' as married couples and registered Civil Partners could previously gain this allowance simply by planning in advance.
Many of our clients have estates in excess of £600,000 (when calculating properties, death in service, life insurance, savings and investments) and we therefore have advanced inheritance tax planning products which we tailor to the individual needs of our clients
Estate Administration
Probate is a procedure that has to be followed after a person has died (if total assets exceed £5,000). A grant is required on death which gives a Personal Representative/Executor the right to administer the deceased's estate.
The Executors or Personal Representatives have two years to administer a deceased's estate. After obtaining the Grant, Executors will then collect the deceased's assets, pay all debts on the estate and, if the estate is a solvent estate, distribute the remaining estate as per the Will or as per the intestacy rules.
In many circumstances this is an arduous task for a non professional.
Protecting your assets
Protecting your assets for those you love and care for. There are many potential threats to your children's inheritance. Re-marriage of a spouse, long term care and Inheritance Tax are just three reasons your estate may not pass to your loved ones. Your assets could end up in the hands of your Local Authority, the Inland Revenue or could even end up passing outside your family.
Through prudent planning we can avoid such scenarios. Our estate planning services are designed to allow you to pass your hard earned wealth to those you choose.
Property Ownership
Whether you own property or not, having a will is essential if you want your assets to pass to the beneficiaries of your choice. Otherwise if you die without a will or "intestate" your assets will be distributed according to intestacy rules, which may not coincide with your wishes.
If you own property or are about to, then making a valid will is essential. You may also wish to consider how you own the title of the property. If there is more than one person entering into a mortgage contract you have two main choices of how to own the title. There are two legal terms "tenants in common "or "joint tenancy" that describes the two methods. The term "Tenants" and Tenancy" in this context has nothing to do with paying rent, it is simply a legal term to do with types of property title ownership.
- Tenants in Common
This represents a divided form of ownership where each party owns a declared percentage of the property. This can be useful for couples who wish to minimise their exposure to inheritance tax and should be done in tandem with the writing of appropriate wills. It can also be useful if two or more friends are buying a property together and don't necessarily want their share to pass to the other friend(s) on death. - Joint Tenancy
This is an undivided form of joint ownership. On death, the deceased share in the property passes automatically to the surviving joint owner. Many married couples have this form of ownership but it is not necessarily to their best advantage, depending on the value of their estate and their potential liability for inheritance tax.
If you would like to make a will and/or obtain more Estate Planning advice at affordable prices please contact us on: 0800 043 042 7
Will Writing services are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority. An additional fee may be payable for this service. The provision of Trust Will's for Estate Planning purposes do not involve investment advice.
