Writing your Will and Lasting Powers of Attorney
It’s essential to put a Will in place, really, this cannot be overstated.
It’s a natural human reaction to put off making your Will, but without a Will you will leave your Estate in turmoil in the event of your death.
A Will ensures your wishes are carried out in the event of your death, and that your assets go to the people you want them to go to. Without a Will, families find that Courts can make decisions on behalf of the deceased, final wishes often don’t get carried out and assets end up in the wrong hands, or worse still, are appropriated by the state.
When buying and protecting a home, it is essential that in the event of your death, your plans and wishes are recorded.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Without the appropriate planning in place, there are significant repercussions for your loved ones. By creating Powers of Attorney in advance, ensures that if the worst were to happen, you can rest assured that both your financial affairs and personal welfare are in safe hands.
We specialise in:
Take time to review your estate planning
When taking out financial services, such as a lifetime mortgage, which can affect your estate and therefore your beneficiaries, it’s imperative to assess your Will, as well as conducting further estate planning.
There are many worthwhile reasons to take the time to revise an existing Will to create new Wills, whilst you are able, that reflect your current circumstances.
This could be directing your assets to Trust to protect your estate from:
Additionally, and very importantly, by implementing this planning, you can be assured that your wishes are preserved after death and that your estate will go to your intended beneficiaries.
Will writing, LPAs and inheritance planning are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Do I need to pay inheritance tax (IHT)?
Where you net estate value is under the nil-rate band upon your death, then your beneficiaries won’t be liable to pay inheritance tax. The nil-rate band in the UK is currently £325,000 per person.
It’s possible to make gifts during your lifetime, but are deemed to continue to be part of your estate for the following seven years, So, if you survive seven years, these gifts will be outside of your estate, and therefore will no longer be taxable for IHT.
Additionally, there is an additional nil-rate band of £175,000 per person, which comes into effect should your primary residence is passed on to a direct descendent. Any unused nil-rate band can be passed onto a living spouse. The value of any tax benefits described depends upon your individual circumstances. Tax rules may change in future.
Please also see the Government’s website for more detailed information.
The value of any tax benefits described depends upon your individual circumstances. Tax rules may change in future.
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA)
There can be circumstances, regardless of your age that result in you being unable to make decisions for yourself, this is called a loss of capacity. These decisions will include matters of healthcare, finances, legal issues, etc. It is crucial, therefore, to consider making Lasting Power of Attorney’s. These grant someone you trust to act as your representative if you are incapable. LPAs are brought into action should you lose mental capacity.
If you do lose mental capacity and you haven’t made LPAs, your loved ones are not able to make decisions on your behalf as you would expect. All bank accounts are frozen (including any joint accounts and jointly owned assets you may have) and are not accessible by anyone until you can take retrospective legal action.
Someone called a Sheriff will be appointed from the Office of Public Guardian (OPG), and this person is the only person who can make decisions on your behalf, until LPAs can be obtained retrospectively. This can typically take over a year and cost thousands of pounds.
The costs for setting up and registering your LPAs will be detailed to you by us. Additionally, you will need to pay the OPG for the registration of your LPAs.
All charges for creating LPAs are one-off, and there are no further hourly charges for time taken to work through your estate planning needs, which frustratingly, is the case with Solicitors.
The Process
The first stage is a discussion with our adviser, so your current situation and your estate requirements can be assessed. Each area of the planning recommended will be outlined in detail to you, alongside the one-off charges, where applicable. Remember, you can use some of the money from an equity release mortgage towards putting this vital planning in place.
