Probate

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Published: Thursday, 02 April 2015 11:32

Written by Chris Heiberg

Probate is the process to establish ownership of an estate before the tax is paid and the assets distributed. Probate is the responsibility of the executors of a will who often appoint a professional firm, such as Peace Of Mind Wills, to take on the responsibilities. Probate is still required where there is no Will although the process is known as Letters of Administration.

The executors have a number of responsibilities, including:

• Settling funeral expenses
• Ensuring that the wishes of the deceased as expressed in the Will are carried out
• Identifying all the assets and claims against the estate
• Obtaining valuations of the joint and sole assets as at the time of death
• Ensuring that the estate of the deceased is handled efficiently and that the funds and assets in the estate including businesses, are properly managed
• Preparing tax returns for the deceased for Inheritance Tax and Income Tax.
• Obtaining tax clearances before distributing the estate
• Settling all the debts of the estate including all taxes.
• Applying for Probate.
• Preparing accounts for the beneficiaries and after payment of all claims, distributing the estate.

Peace Of Mind Wills have teamed up with Zedra to offer a fixed fee Estate Administration service. Their proactive, transparent approach means that you can rest assured they’re always on top of what needs to be done. And when you want to check on progress, you can track your case online or speak to your personal estate adviser at any time.

We can visit the executors to talk through how we can help them and once they understand the complexity of the estate, quote them for the work involved.

Making your Will

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Published: Thursday, 02 April 2015 11:30

Written by Chris Heiberg

This may be the first time that you have made a Will. It may be that your current Will needs reviewing. Normally, people may choose to make a Will following a bereavement of a member of the family, a friend or loved one. Sometimes, it could be a lifestyle change such as getting married or entering into a civil partnership, bringing a baby into the world, buying a house or the onset of a serious illness.

If you die intestate (without making a Will) the people you would want most to protect, may not benefit. It can take a long time to sort out your assets.

If you do not have a will:

• Your husband/wife or civil partner may not inherit everything that you own bringing financial hardship to the surviving spouse.
• The courts may ultimately decide who looks after your children.
• If you live together but are not married, the surviving partner is not automatically entitled to benefit from everything.
• If everything you own exceeds a certain amount, then thousands of pounds of Tax will be handed over to the government, often needlessly.
• Your home could be sold to pay for your long term care.

Peace Of Mind Wills can help you through the process of drawing up your Will. This will include advice on naming executors. These are the people, usually your spouse/partner and maybe two or three other people who will look after your assets following your death. They may be asked to obtain probate, pay off your debts, pay for your funeral expenses, meet any Inheritance Tax that is due and arrange to distribute your assets according to the wishes set out in your Will.

To provide a guiding hand to the executors Peace Of Mind Wills offer practical assistance to them at a difficult time. Our Executor Help Service gives support to them in applying for probate, their legal obligations and carrying out the wishes in the Will.

An important part of the process of making a Will is notifying the people you name as executors. Once you have informed them, and with your permission, we will write to each of them to outline their duties and enable them to ask any questions they may have.

Peace Of Mind Wills can help if you decide that you would like to leave gifts to certain individuals or charities.

We will advise on suitable guardians for your children under 18 and trusts that will allow the trustees to manage any money left to very young children.

If your total assets (house, personal belongings, savings, life insurance etc) are over the Inheritance Tax threshold then Peace Of Mind Wills can advise on suitable planning to reduce or, remove any Inheritance Tax Liability. In many cases this is money that could go to your children and not the tax man.

If, like most homeowners, you own your own house with a spouse or partner as beneficial joint tenants, then even if you don’t have a Will, the surviving partner becomes the sole owner of the property on your death. This appears to be fine. However, if the surviving partner remarries and dies or goes into long term residential care then the house could be lost as an inheritance to your children.

Peace Of Mind Wills can advise on altering the ownership of the property to tenants in common to allow you the option of leaving your share of the house to your children when you die.

Another important aspect of financial planning on death is to provide for dependants, who may not be able to look after themselves (e.g. Disabled children).

Peace Of Mind Wills can advise on suitable trusts that will shelter money intended for say, a disabled child, and allow the trustees to look after their financial welfare without affecting their benefits.

Following our consultation, your legal documents will be drafted carefully and professionally. When ready, Peace Of Mind Wills revisit yourself at a convenient time to enable you to check the documents before signing them in front of suitable witnesses.

We will contact you each year on the anniversary to establish if things need changing or updating to provide Peace Of Mind that the Will is current. Failure to review a Will regularly can be as disastrous as not making one in the first place.

A Will is probably the most important document you can make. If during your lifetime, the Will gets lost or destroyed or the executors cannot find it when you die, then all the hard work put into protecting your loved ones is undone. You die as if the Will was never made.

Peace Of Mind Wills provide secure, insured storage of your legal documents. We will produce certificates of storage for your executors with details of how to obtain the Will if you die.

Lasting Power of Attorney

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Published: Thursday, 02 April 2015 11:29

Written by Chris Heiberg

Imagine an elderly parent becoming so ill or infirm that they are unable to carry out day to day financial transactions. Imagine a loved one being involved in an accident and receiving permanent mental damage.

Then think about the consequences of the next of kin being unable to deal with their personal and financial affairs. Money might be needed from bank accounts to provide for their care or to support young dependants. A house might need to be sold to fund a move to a more suitable home.

The next course of action will be to apply to the Court of Protection for Deputy-ship of the person's assets. Apart from the time this might take against a background of distress and concern for the welfare of the individual, costs can run into hundreds of pounds and be chargeable for many years until the person makes a recovery or dies. Also, the Court will ultimately decide who looks after the person's affairs, not you.

Peace Of Mind Wills can draw up a Lasting Power Of Attorney.

This document is worthwhile considering. Once drafted, it is stored and may never be used. However, at any time in a person’s life, if they suffer, physical or mental incapacitation, then close relatives or friends nominated in the document can take control of that person’s affairs within weeks at a fraction of the cost of applying for Deputyship.

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA's) will enable you to specify who you want to look after your financial affairs AND/OR your personal health and welfare.

Customers with existing Enduring Powers of Attorney will be unaffected by the changes under The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and will still be able to use the documents to help manage the financial affairs of a loved one for whom they have been appointed an attorney.

Independent Financial Advice

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Published: Thursday, 02 April 2015 11:28

Written by Chris Heiberg

Peace of Mind Wills specialise in estate planning through professional advice relating to the writing of your Will.

There may be occasions where recommendations are provided to seek advice from a suitably qualified Independent Financial Advisor.We work in partnership with a number of Independent Financial Advisors and would be happy to introduce them to you if you require advice in the following areas.