Lasting Power of Attorney

The new lasting power of attorney has now been with us for over one year.

As with the old enduring power of attorney everyone who makes a will should make a lasting power of attorney.

For more information there is a useful new website

www.lastingpowerattorney.co.uk

After the 1st of October 2007 you will no longer be able to make an Enduring Power of Attorney but will have to use the new Lasting Power of Attorney.

Most advisers recommend that you make an Enduring Power of Attorney BEFORE the cut off date to avoid the new complicated rules and procedures.

Everyone should have an Enduring Power of Attorney!

You can see more information at www.enduring-power-of-attorney.net

There is a useful article/case study about why people with assets in excess of the Nil Rate Band (£285,000) should consider a Discretionary Will Trust as oppsed to a “normal” will.  Making a Discretionary Will Trust can reduce, or even eliminate, the Inheritance Tax liability on your estate.

Why give it to the tax man when you can leave an extra £114,000 to your beneficiaries?

Site available at  www.discretionary-will-trust.co.uk

Case study article here

Many people make it a New years Resolution to write a will, but why wait?

If you have decided that its something you need to do (and everyone should KNOW this) what is the point of putting it off. If anything is going to happen to you it could just as easily be tomorrow as January.

As the saying goes it is NEVER too early to make a will bhut it cfould be too late. Over 70% of people in the UK die without a will – I’m sure a lot of them were “going to get round to it one day”!

Make a Will NOW – online in minutes here

There are often arguments made against making a will online, usually by people with vested interests in expressing that opinion.

It is however true that some of the online will websites are “lacking” in certain essentials which could lead the unwary inot making a (potentially costly) mistake. Although making a will online will almost certainly save you both time and money, cost should NOT be the driving factor when choosing the online will provider.

Online wills tend to cost between £9 and £45 for a single will and more for mirror wills etc.

The most important things to look for with an Online Will website are:-

1. Ensure it is solicitor checked
2. Ensure there are no hidden costs or additional costs if you decide to make changes later.
3. That there is an option to write a Discretionary Trust Will and/or Enduring Power of Attorney if required.
4. That you can print your will off IMMEDIATELY. There is little point in saving tijme if you have to wait for your will to arrive by post or email.
5. Tha the software it uses has SECURE SSL Links.
6. That it has a free trial and money back guarantee just incase.

Having looked into ALL the Online Will Writing Websites ONLY www.tenminutewill.co.uk offers all of this at a reasonable cost (£29.95). Other websites are either cheaper and lacking, or much more expensive or are similar priced but have hidden future costs should you wish to make changes.

SearchWill.co.uk offer the facility to find a (qualified) will writer in your local area. It does include some solicitors but in the main it lists will writing services or individual will writers who make home visits to write your will.

Although I have covered this before (see main page) it is alarming how many people still make a will but not an EPA.

EVERYONE who makes a will should also make a EPA - its that simple. Especially considering you can make on in minutes for under £28.

You can EITHER make one at the same time as making your will OR if you have a will already you can simply write one as an additional document.

You can make an Enduring Power of Attorney Online here in Minutes.

How to Calculate inheritance Tax

Every individual has a personal allowance for inheritance tax currently set at £285,000. 

Over this value your estate will be taxed at 40%. It is important to note that here is no tax to pay between spouses on the first death. However most couples make the mistake of only having Mirror (joint) Wills that pass everything to the surviving spouse.

This has the effect of giving away the first spouses tax free allowance, so on the dearh of the second partner the whole estate is assessed for inheritance tax. 

Married couples, with sufficient assets, could save the equivalent of their personal inheritance tax allowance by setting up their Wills in a discretionary trust made out in favour of their spouse or children.

You can make a Discretionary Will Trust Online here

There is a comprehensive guide to Discretionary Will Trusts here 

Wills – best options

Revoking a Will

You can revoke (i.e cancel) your will only in the following ways:

Make a New Will - whenever you make a Will, the new Will automatically cancels the previous one.

Destruction – Without writing a new Will, an existing Will is cancelled if completely destroyed (tearing up, burning etc.). There must be clear intention to destroy it as any will deemed destroyed accidentally may still be valid. Ensure ALL copies are destroyed.

Marriage – If you are not currently married but get married in the future, you should assume that any Will you wrote before your marriage is automatically revoked.

Note: Divorce does NOT invalidate a Will. A divorce treats former spouses as if they were omitted from the Will. No gift will pass to them, and even if they are named as executors they cannot act as such. However, the rest of the Will remains valid.

In order to destroy a will, you must burn it or tear it up. This must be with the clear and obvious intention that the will is ot be revoked. You must also ensure that any copies are destroyed as well.

There is always the risk that if a copy subsequently appears or pieces of the original will can be reassembled then it might be construed that the destruction was accidental.

You must destroy the will yourself or in your presence. Any instruction to an executor or 3rd party to destroy a will has no effect and the will would still be considered valid. If a will is destroyed by accident, it is considered not revoked and can still be valid.

Once the old will is destroyed, any new will should contain a clause revoking all previous wills and codicils.

To make a new will:-

Will Drafters Ltd now have a Low Cost Probate service offering the following:-

• A fully inclusive fixed fee service with no hidden extras, no last minute surprises and nothing more to pay – guaranteed.
• They will beat any other written quote – guaranteed!

For further information click the banner

Everyone agrees that banks and solicitors charge far too much for probate work. Now, Will Drafters aim to change all that.

99.9% of solicitors will not give you a fixed fee quote and neither will banks.

Often they quote a percentage of the estate varying between 1% and 5%, plus an hourly charge which is higher than some people earn in a week (usually between £200 to £300 per hour) – without committing themselves to how many hours, plus disbursements – whatever they are, and finally, plus another 17.5% for VAT on the whole, already huge, bill!

At Will Drafters, when you appoint them they don’t ask you to sign a blank cheque. They will give you a fixed fee quote in advance and in writing.

They offer a fully inclusive fixed fee service with no hidden extras, no last minute surprises and nothing more to pay – guaranteed:

1. They will beat any other written quote – guaranteed!
2. No awkward interviews needed with the Probate Office
3. You choose how much of the work you want them to do
4. House clearance and/or sale can also be included
5. Monies paid into your account or ours – you decide
6. Complex Inheritance Tax forms and others completed
7. Advice on use of Deed of Variation to save tax on estate
8. Placing of necessary Statutory Advertisements & others
9. Enjoy peace of mind as we take the pressure and stress
10. Professional and reliable company – established 1990

Life is stressful enough, isn’t it? So, invest a few minutes of your time now and ask for a no-obligation fully inclusive fixed fee quote (in writing) for their probate service. And, if you have lots of questions, then simply ask them – all your questions will be answered quickly and courteously.

Go to the Will Drafters Ltd Website for more information HERE

If you don’t make a Will your estate will be subject ot the Intestacy Laws as follows.

• If you have no spouse or blood relatives, your entire estate will go to the Taxman
• If you do have blood relatives or a spouse, they will have to apply to the courts to administer your Estate – a far more lengthy and costly process than if you had written a Will
• You forfeit the right to ‘ring-fence’ some or all of your estate such that your spouse can benefit from it but a Local Authority can’t (if he/she has to go into care)
• If you have children under 18, and the other parent is also dead, then you have given up the right to decide who looks after them
• If you have a co-habiting partner, he/she will get none of your estate even if you have been together for 50 years or more
• The Government effectively writes a Will for you, using the following flowchart:-

Intestacy Laws Flowchart

Useful Flow Tool

Changing your will

Whenever you make your will it is always possible that a number of factors will change over the course of your life. This will often mean that you will need to change your will.

It is important that you make the change immediately.

Some examples are:-

1. If you were single when you drew up your will, it may become invalid if you get married.
2. Divorce or separation does NOT make a will invalid so you should consider making changes.
3. If you have a child or grandchild or adopt.
4. If you move house.
5. Every 5 years regardless.

If they are significant alterations, you will probably need to make a new will which will revoke any previous wills you have made.

If you just want to make minor alterations, you can add supplementary changes known as codicils – although these should be added separately and never made on the original document. Any changes must be properly witnessed.

Although I would not advocate using the DIY (will form) route, you can download a DIY Will Form HERE

Please remember that while it might save a few pounds it is fraught with danger and any mistakes could cost your beneficiaries far more than you save. At worst your will could be declared invalid.

What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?

Everyone who makes a Will SHOULD also make an EPA!

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) is a specific type of power of attorney!

It gives a person the right to act for the donor of the power in their financial affairs, and to continue to do so even when if the donor has become mentally incapable. In fact the Enduring Power of Attorney can be worded so that it only comes into effect if this should happen.

Everyone should not only to make a will, but also an EPA.

• You can appoint almost anybody over the age of majority to act as your attorney.
  
• It is quite common to appoint two people to act as attorneys, either together (so they would both have to sign documents for example), or independently (so either could act on your behalf).
  
• If one of the attorneys dies, who have to act together, or becomes incapable of acting as an attorney, then the whole EPA ceases.
• It is not possible to appoint successive attorneys, eg “my husband, but on his death my sister”.
  
• You can however get round this problem by creating two EPAs at the same time, expressing one to be conditional upon the other, eg “my sister shall not have general authority over my affairs unless my husband predeceases me”.

Having made the EPA it does not mean that it has to be used. It should be retained with your will and made available for use if and when it becomes necessary.

You do NOT need to use the services of a solicitor to make an EPA. Indeed they are so straighforward that to do so simply incurs unecessary expense.

You can make an Enduring Power of Attorney Online here for just £27.95 or £39.95 for a pair.

You can download a FREE Guide “Why Make an EPA” here

It is important that you ensure your Will is always up to-date

You should review your will at least every five years and preferably every three. You should also update your Will after any major change in your life – such as getting separated, married or divorced, having a child or moving house. Any change must be by ‘codicil’ (an addition, amendment or supplement to a will) or by making a new will.

Why You Should Make A Will?

1. You decide how you wish your estate to be shared not the government.
2. Save your family time and distress by giving them guidance on how you wish your estate to be divided
3. Minimize payment to the Tax Man by protecting your assets.
4. Minimize future payment to lawyers
5. Avoid bitter family rivalry
6. Appoint guardians for your children; don’t let the courts decide for you.
7. Simplifies legal process and granting of probate.
8. If you are not married then your partner will not inherit your estate. It will be divided according to law which could be your children, mother & father, even your brothers or sisters.
9. You appoint who looks after your affairs, you may not want to use a solicitor.

Writing a Will not only ensures that your money and assets go where you WANT them to go but can also go a long way to mitigating or even removing any Inheritance Tax Liability.

FREE GUIDE to Making a Will

Will Drafters Ltd have written wills for over 80,000 satisfied customers since it began in 1990. They are recommended by Which? magazine.

You can have their FREE Guide to “Making a Will” emailed to you in seconds. Click HERE for further information.

Read what Which?, Midland Bank and Standard Life say about Will Drafters. For further details and a free Will brochure Click Here

Willdrafters Ltd also offer a Low Cost Probate Service where they GUATANTEE to beat ant previous quote you have received. For further information visit their probate section here

You need to make provision in your will for the circumstance if your main beneficiary should die before you.

This is not a legal requirement but it is unwise not to provide for an alternative.

It is important to understand that if a child who is taking a benefit from your will/estate dies before you then that child’s children (your grandchildren) will take the share that your child would have received.

If there is more than one grandchild then they will share equally.

All the options below will allow you to make alternative provision should your main beneficiary die before you.