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Making a Will lets your loved ones know you cared enough to 'sort things out' in advance, and we are here to help you through this process, in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
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Contact us on 01527 557 944
Why Should I Make A Will?
Making a Will is the only way to ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death. If you haven’t made a Will, your property and possessions will pass according to the complicated Law of Intestacy.
This may not be what you would have wished. In any event it is likely to take longer to finalise than if you had made a Will.
During this time your beneficiaries may not be able to draw any money from your estate, and it can mean arguments and distress for relatives.
Making a Will lets your loved ones know that you cared enough to ‘sort things out’ in advance.
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Reasons For Making A Will
SINGLE - If you are a single person, you may want your estate divided amongst friends, relatives and charities of your choosing, and in the proportions you want.
MARRIED - If you are married, don’t assume ‘my other half will get everything’. Brothers and sisters or parents may have a claim. Often your children have a right to part of your estate. If you are living as a couple but not officially married, you may be treated as a single person and a surviving partner may get nothing at all. One thing you can be certain of – there will be argument and dispute at a time when the family should be coping with the loss of a loved one.
PARENT - If you are a parent, you should consider who would look after your children in the event of your death. This is particularly important in the case of one parent families or unmarried parents living together. A valid Will nominating guardians is invaluable in such cases. If no one knows what you would have wanted, the Court will decide on the future of your children, and it may not be what you would have wished.
RETIRED - If you are retired, maybe you made a Will a long time ago. It probably needs updating to include additional grandchildren or deletion of persons you no longer feel you wish to leave anything to.
A Will brings security, reassurance and above all peace of mind, not just for you, but for all those who depend on you, either now or in the future.
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Making a standard Will lets you decide:
- Who to leave your possessions to, and in what proportions.
- The naming of the people who YOU want to care for your children (up to 18) if you are not around.
- Who will carry out your wishes and manage your estate.
- Who to exclude from your Will, if you so wish.
Most of us wish for our possessions, savings and home to be passed down to our family and loved ones, in the order that we wish.
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Property Trust
Are You A Home Owner?
Are you worried or concerned about losing your house to pay for Residential and Nursing Care?
Under the terms of the Community Care Act (1990), if you have assets of over £20,500, including the value of your home, you will have to pay for all your Residential Care Fees. These fees are typically £350 - £700 per week, and as the average stay is 5 years, it may not take long use up your savings and possessions.
You Can Do Something About This, To Help Protect Your Family And Your Home
Property Trust
Most couples own property as beneficial joint owners. If anything happens to either one the property will pass to the survivor, which means the survivor will own the entire property.
What if the survivor was to re-marry or live with someone else, the property may well end up with the new spouse or partner and your children may lose out.
However, a Property Trust in both your Wills allows your children to own at least 50% of the property.
An additional benefit of taking this action is that half the value of your home may not be classed as an asset if the survivor is assessed for Residential and Nursing Care fees because your children will own it.
Such Trusts provide for the full use of the property for the survivor during his/her lifetime, and the flexibility of selling or moving house if required.
It is essential that you ACT now, whilst you are still well and able.
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Inheritance Tax - Will Based Inheritance Tax Trust
This IHT Trust is for unmarried couples. Married couples have the benefit of using both people's tax free allowances. This is not the case with unmarried couples.
The current tax free allowance is £300,000 (April 2007). Anything over this amount is subject to a tax of 40%. Many properties are worth this amount and a lot more, so you may well have a total estate which exceeds £300,000.
After the death of the first partner we will set up an Inheritance Tax (IOU) Trust. By putting an Inheritance Tax based Trust into a pair of Wills, both partners' tax allowances are retained, so that the total estate when the second partner dies can be £600,000.
This new figure may well now exclude your children or beneficiaries from paying any Inheritance Tax at all. (Estates valued at over £300,000 will still attract a 40% tax. Ref. date - April 2007).
Make a pair or mirror Wills to include an Inheritance Tax based Trust for peace of mind, and for the sake of your children.
Property and Inheritance Tax based Trusts require a
Severance of Tenancy to allow them to be effective.
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Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
Many people, as the result of an accident sudden illness or advancing years, lose the ability to manage their own affairs during their lifetime.
Although you may have appointed executors in your Will, they may not be able to act for you while you are alive. It is not correct to assume that your spouse or next of kin will be allowed automatically to take on this responsibility.
The solution here is to make a Lasting Power of Attorney. This is a legal document in which you set down who are to manage your affairs in the event that you are prevented from doing so.
There are 2 different types of LPAs:
- A Property and Affairs LPA is for decisions about finances, such as selling the donor's house or managing their bank account; and
- A Personal Welfare LPA is for decisions about both health and personal welfare, such as where to live, day-to-day care or having medical treatment.
You do not need to have both as they are separate documents.
The person or people you can appoint to act as your Attorney are your spouse, your children, or a trusted friend or relation. They will be able to legally act on your behalf to do anything you could do yourself, unless you restrict his or her authority. The appointed person can for the Property and Affairs LPA:
- Deal with your financial affairs, having access to your bank and building society accounts.
- Sign documents on your behalf.
- Dispose of property.
- Purchase goods and gifts on your behalf.
And for the Personal Welfare LPA:
- Make decisions about where you live
- Your day to day care
- What medical treatment you have
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a powerful Legal Document which is essential for any adult who has a Bank Account, or who owns Property, or if you wish for someone to look after your personal welfare. The best time to make an LPA is when you make a Will
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What is a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?
An LPA is a Power of Attorney which subject to conditions and safeguards, continues in force in the event that the maker of the LPA (called the “Donor”) should be unable to manage their own affairs, for the Property and Affairs LPA, either physically or mentally, provided that it is registered at the Office of the Public Guardian.
The LPA for Personal Welfare can only be used, once registered, if the person who has made the LPA, the donor, has become mentally incapable of handling their own affairs.
What is the purpose of an Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?
To enable people, while they are still mentally capable, to decide who they would like to deal with their affairs for them in the event that they should become mentally incapable. For the Property and Affairs LPA, it can also include being physically unable to manage your own affairs, or if you wish to leave the country for a while.
What authority can the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) give?
The power may be completely general allowing the Attorney to do almost everything the Donor could do on his or her behalf, or it may be limited to certain specified purposes.
Can a Donor appoint more than one Attorney?
Yes, there is no limit, but for practical reasons one or two is the norm. The Donor may choose to appoint attorneys to either work together or separately, or a combination of the two options for different accounts.
What is an Attorney?
An Attorney is someone who can act on behalf of a Donor in financial affairs and personal welfare. If the Donor gives the Attorney(s) general authority to act on his or her behalf, the Attorney will be able to do most things that the Donor could have done E.G. Sign cheques, withdraw money to pay bills, make gifts etc.
For the welfare LPA, to decide on medical treatment, where the donor is to live and day to day care.
If more than one Attorney, do they have to be appointed jointly?
No. They can be appointed to act on their own or together, or a combination if you wish to specify that for different accounts. If appointed jointly, they must apply jointly or the LPA will not be registered and neither of them will be able to act.
When does the Donor sign the LPA?
Whenever he or she wishes, and is happy with the terms of the LPA. The Donor must be mentally capable of understanding what an LPA is, and what it is intended to do.
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Advance Directive (Living Will)
This document allows you to state, whilst you are able to decide for yourself, that if you are totally reliant on a life support machine or medication, essentially you are brain dead, you want the machine or medication stopped. You have made that decision. You get 3 copies, one to store with your medical records, and 2 for family or friends.
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Secure Will Storage
Secure storage of a Will is vital. It is estimated that of all Wills made in England and Wales, almost half fail because they cannot be produced in an acceptable form when the time comes.
Your original Will is a very important document, and it needs to be kept in a safe and secure place where your Executors can find it. Only the original signed Will, in good condition, is acceptable for Probate. You may also want to make alterations to your Will as your personal circumstances change.
It is therefore important that your Will is stored safely and securely, for life.
Please ask about our Life Time Storage facility with FREE updates.
We will contact you every two years to see if your circumstances have changed.
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