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Wills & Probate

We're here to help you leave things as you wish

A Will is a signed legal document (by you and witnesses to this) that lets you decide what happens to your estate; money, property and possessions etc. after your death. Making a Will ensures that when you die your estate is shared according to your wishes.

If you are not married (which includes civil partnerships) then when you pass away your partner has no legal right to inherit any of your assets.

Your Will can only manage assets you own at the time of your death it cannot protect your assets whilst you are alive. If you want to protect your assets during your life, then it is essential you use Trusts and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Making a Will ensures that when you die your estate is shared according to your wishes.

If you are not married (which includes civil partnerships) then when you pass away your partner has no legal right to inherit any of your assets. Your Will can only manage assets you own at the time of your death it cannot protect your assets whilst you are alive. If you want to protect your assets during your life, then it is essential you use Trusts and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Dying Intestate

If you die without a Will, intestate, there are certain rules, made by HM Government, which determine how your money, property or assets should be allocated. This may not be in the way that you intended.

If you have a spouse or civil partner and children, your spouse or civil partner will inherit all your personal possessions and at least the first £250,000 of your estate, plus half the rest. Your children will then be entitled to the other half of the balance.

If you have a spouse or civil partner but don’t have children, your spouse or civil partner will inherit your whole estate. This includes your personal possessions.

If you have children and your spouse or partner is deceased, your children will inherit everything, divided equally between them.

If you don’t have a partner or children then parents, brothers, sisters, and nieces and nephews may inherit your estate.

Other issues to consider

Complexity & ongoing validity

You can create your own Will and many people buy off-the-shelf DIY packs and do their own. However, ‘caveat emptor’ as there are many pitfalls and our advice is to take professional legal advice particularly if you want to protect your assets during your life

Divorce & unsuitable partners

If your marriage is ended by a court order your will is not void nor invalid. You should make a new will immediately after your divorce if your spouse or civil partner was a beneficiary or a trustee.

Remarriage

If you marry, remarry or enter a civil partnership, this usually makes a previously existing will invalid.

Bankruptcy

When someone dies, if part (or all) of their Estate is set to be inherited by a beneficiary who has been declared bankrupt, it will directly impact on how that beneficiary is able to inherit. The inheritance must be disclosed and will be used to pay off outstanding debts before being passed to the beneficiary.

Care Costs

If you need care your local authority will do a means test. This will probably take into account the value of your property, as well as your income and savings. This could erode the final value of your assets you bequeath to your loved ones. There are totally legal ways you can protect your assets – look at Trusts.

Inheritance tax

Inheritance Tax is a 40% charge on any assets above your personal allowance, currently £325,000 per person. If you are likely to pay the 40% tax then there are ways to reduce this by: making outright gifts, setting up a Trust, keeping your assets while reducing your estate, managing Inheritance Tax without making gifts. For more details contact us.

Disinheritance

If you are thinking of disinheriting a close relative from your Will please be careful and seek legal advice; (we can help) it is more complex than you might believe. The 1975 Inheritance Act protects individuals who might reasonably expect to receive a financial provision from the deceased’s estate; simply dis-owning them and cutting them out of your Will may not be enough.

Disability

If you have a family member who is receiving disability benefit and you leave them a lump sum in your Will it is possible you will affect these payments. You can set up a Discretionary Trust which can give them financial security and ensure little change to their quality of life, talk to us for more information.

Children & Trusts

It is possible to create Discretionary Trusts for children who aren’t capable or responsible enough to deal with either the capital or its income. It is possible to pre-determine how often payments are made and to impose conditions on the beneficiary and even hold it for a specific point in their lives.

Complexity & ongoing validity

You can create your own Will and many people buy off-the-shelf DIY packs and do their own. However, ‘caveat emptor’ as there are many pitfalls and our advice is to take professional legal advice particularly if you want to protect your assets during your life

Divorce & unsuitable partners

If your marriage is ended by a court order your will is not void nor invalid. You should make a new will immediately after your divorce if your spouse or civil partner was a beneficiary or a trustee.

Remarriage

If you marry, remarry or enter a civil partnership, this usually makes a previously existing will invalid.

Bankruptcy

When someone dies, if part (or all) of their Estate is set to be inherited by a beneficiary who has been declared bankrupt, it will directly impact on how that beneficiary is able to inherit. The inheritance must be disclosed and will be used to pay off outstanding debts before being passed to the beneficiary.

Care Costs

If you need care your local authority will do a means test. This will probably take into account the value of your property, as well as your income and savings. This could erode the final value of your assets you bequeath to your loved ones. There are totally legal ways you can protect your assets – look at Trusts.

Inheritance tax

Inheritance Tax is a 40% charge on any assets above your personal allowance, currently £325,000 per person. If you are likely to pay the 40% tax then there are ways to reduce this by: making outright gifts, setting up a Trust, keeping your assets while reducing your estate, managing Inheritance Tax without making gifts. For more details contact us.

Disinheritance

If you are thinking of disinheriting a close relative from your Will please be careful and seek legal advice; (we can help) it is more complex than you might believe. The 1975 Inheritance Act protects individuals who might reasonably expect to receive a financial provision from the deceased’s estate; simply dis-owning them and cutting them out of your Will may not be enough.

Disability

If you have a family member who is receiving disability benefit and you leave them a lump sum in your Will it is possible you will affect these payments. You can set up a Discretionary Trust which can give them financial security and ensure little change to their quality of life, talk to us for more information.

Children & Trusts

It is possible to create Discretionary Trusts for children who aren’t capable or responsible enough to deal with either the capital or its income. It is possible to pre-determine how often payments are made and to impose conditions on the beneficiary and even hold it for a specific point in their lives.

Probate

The granting of Probate is the first step in the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person’s property under their Will.

When someone dies, their representative will need to get the legal right to deal with their property, money and possessions (their ‘estate’). The executor or their selected representative applies for a ‘grant of representation’ – known as ‘probate’.

You can apply yourself or use a solicitor or another person licensed to provide probate services. For more information on using a solicitor contact us.

Control the Cost of Probate

Probate (administering the deceased’s estate) commences immediately on the death of an individual

Tasks include: paying IHT, seeking power of probate, protecting assets until distribution, pay debtors, advise banks and others, resolve mortgages, look after guardians, submit tax returns, distribute assets, meet wishes in the Will and much more.

Estates worth more than £50,000 will pay fees, those between £50,000 and £300,000 will pay £300; Estates worth over £1m but less than £1.6m will pay £8,000; Those above £2m will pay £20,000.

It is possible to use third parties to conduct probate on your behalf; and pay for this in advance – interested? Contact us.

The Probate Process

Often probate is a time consuming and complex process and many families chose to employ a legal team to manage it on their behalf. Contact us for more details.

If you wish to use professional services to undertake the work, they will:

Apply for Probate
Swear an oath
Manage and execute:
The official copy of the death certificate
The Will and any codicils (amendments)
Probate application fees
Complete an Inheritance Tax form
Value the estate
Fill out the appropriate forms
Pay inheritance tax (with a nil return if no tax is due)

You can get a penalty if you send inaccurate information on the Inheritance Tax form.

FREE Review of Your Existing Will

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Protecting Your Assets

'In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes,” - Ben Franklin

Protego-te is Latin for ‘protecting you’ and our vision is to provide you with clear, concise and informative knowledge as to how you can protect assets for those you wish to benefit once you have passed away.

First Steps

Contact our friendly team and we will arrange your no obligation home visit. We can visit at a time that suits you, or you can visit our Head Office if you prefer.