Making a will ensures that your wishes will be carried out after your death. Unfortunately, if you haven’t properly documented your wishes in a will, then the government will decide what happens to your possessions and your money.
Having a will ensures that your possessions will be passed on as you want them to be. A will that is prepared by a qualified solicitor is less open to challenge, lowering the risk of your wishes being ignored.
Our experienced team will make sure that your wishes are accurately recorded and appropriate to your circumstances. We can even help you to set up trusts to protect assets for the future and advise on inheritance tax planning.
We will store your will and act as executor at no extra charge.
We recommend that you update your will every five years and/or following an important life event, such as having children or a divorce. If you are remarrying then your old will lapses so you need to make another in anticipation of the new marriage.
To discuss your options, please contact us for a free initial consultation.
Inheritance tax is not just for the wealthy. Substantial rises in property values and increases in personal holdings mean that many more people are directly affected by inheritance tax.
The impact of inheritance tax on even the most modest of estates can be severe. Inheritance tax is the tax levied by the government on your estate when you die; a charge of 40% is made on the net worth of everything above the designated threshold.
It is levied upon everything you own, from all properties, cash savings and investments, personal effects and the value of life assurance policies.
Without effective inheritance tax planning, you could be leaving your family with a very large tax bill when you die.
Typical approaches to reducing Inheritance tax (IHT) liabilities include:
A living will is a formal document which sets out your wishes in advance of what kind of medical treatment you would like, should you be unable to communicate those wishes at the time.
Living wills can be tailored to specific medical treatments which you may or may not wish to have, such as artificial breathing or feeding. They are however, limited to only your medical treatment – it does not deal with your property or funeral requests, which are dealt with by way of a will.
Living wills are commonly made by people with a terminal illness, but can be made by any adult at any stage of life, provided that they have mental capacity at the time the document is signed.
You are able to set up a living will regardless of whether you are in long-term care or living independently. A living will gives you the ability to appoint a relative or friend to make vital decisions regarding your treatment, should the need arise.