What we offer
There’s more to financial planning than making a Will.
From ensuring your family can manage your finances on your behalf should you become incapacitated to arranging the safe storage of your Will and other documents, we can help you prepare and protect your estate for your loved ones.
Lasting Power of Attorney
Could your family cope financially if something happened to you? A Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to appoint somebody to manage your financial lifestyle and personal affairs should you become unable to manage them yourself. It also allows you to choose who you would like to act on your behalf and put restrictions and conditions on its use to ensure that you feel comfortable and protected.
If dying without a Will makes life difficult for your loved ones, the same can be said for those who are temporarily incapacitated or lose mental capacity without having a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place. Whilst you have the mental capacity, you should make a Power of Attorney to avoid unnecessary expenses in future and the uncertainty and anxiety your family and business partners would face if you become incapable of making decisions.
Trusts
If you would like to safeguard your assets for the future benefit of your family, you may consider setting up a trust. There are many reasons for doing so, including maintaining control over your assets, protection for your beneficiaries, potential savings on inheritance tax, and avoiding delays during probate. The terms of a trust are enforceable by law, so you can be assured that the arrangements you make during your lifetime will be carried out upon your death.
There are various types of trust available, including a Family Settlement Asset Trust, Living Trust, Discretionary Trust and more. Our advisor will be able to explain the suitability and implications of each, specific to your circumstance. We can assist with placing property or assets in the hands of trustees, creating trust documents, advice to trustees on their duties and options, change of trustees, distribution/termination of trusts and the taxation of trusts.
Probate
Probate is the legal right to manage a person’s estate (money, property and possessions) after their death. This is something the executor of your Will, or if no Will is made, your closest living relative will need to apply for. Probate is not always required, depending on your personal and financial situation at the time of your death.
Applying for probate can be a lengthy, complicated and stressful procedure, often exacerbated by the strain and grief of coping with the death of a loved one. In association with our legal team, we can help you with your application for probate. This includes preparing all necessary paperwork and making an application to the court on your behalf. Many of our clients find this service invaluable at a painful and distressing time.
Secure Storage
A Will is an important document and needs to be kept safe from fire, flood and tampering. If your Will is lost or damaged in any way, it could be declared invalid, and your wishes for your estate and assets may not be taken into account after your death. For a small annual fee, The Will Group can provide secure storage of your Wills and Deeds and undertake to write to you each year to review and update the Wills free of charge.
Our secure storage service ensures that only you and your named executors can access your Will and that when the time comes, your executors know where to find it.
Severance Deeds
There are two ways to own property jointly: as Joint Tenants or as Tenants in Common. The nature of Joint Tenants means that the property is held equally between the parties. On the death of one joint owner, the half share of the property will pass automatically to the survivor. The share of the property cannot be disposed of anywhere else through the terms of a Will. It is often necessary to change the nature of the joint ownership to enable the house to form part of the estate planning process.
Changing the ownership to allow more flexible planning does not take away from the owners any beneficial interest. There are numerous reasons for this, including a wish to provide for children to inherit the share, to avoid the share becoming available to fund care fees, to shelter the share from inheritance tax or to protect it from bankruptcy proceedings or remarriage after death. We can help you to complete the process of changing the way property is owned quickly and efficiently, along with advising you on whether this would be in your best interests.