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Oliver Riley
We’re proud to support Update Your Will Week 2024
This week is Update Your Will Week (4th–10th March), an annual campaign hosted by The Association of Lifetime Lawyers. It aims to raise...
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Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney
- Experienced & Trusted Advice -
Thinking about creating a Will, Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) or having to deal with the events following a loved one’s death can be a daunting prospect. We are here to take those burdens away and help you deal with these inevitable aspects of life with both sensitivity and care. We have a dedicated team of lawyers who have a wealth of knowledge and experience in providing advice in each of these areas.
We pride ourselves on listening to the individual’s circumstances and our ability to tailor advice accordingly, ensuring they receive the best and most appropriate advice. Whether it involves complicated family dynamics or other financial matters – we have the necessary experience and expertise to help.
We also offer home visits for infirm clients who are not able to attend the office in person. All our lawyers are fully DBS checked, so you can feel confident in asking us to attend at your home to discuss your matter.
Finally, many of our lawyers are STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) qualified ensuring the highest standards of service are provided.
OUR
EXPERTISE
REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD USE A LIFETIME LAWYER
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- WILLS -
Your will lets you decide what happens to your money, property and possessions after your death. It should be reviewed no less than every 3 years and every time there is a significant change of circumstance. If you don’t make a will, you will die ‘intestate’ and your estate may not go to the people you want. This will cause a great deal of stress and worry for your loved ones. Even those with an existing Will should be cautious. There is a raft of legal requirements that must be complied with if a Will is to remain valid at law, even down to how it is signed.
It is essential your Will is drafted and reviewed by a suitably qualified professional at Eccles Heddon. Not only do we have the experience, detailed knowledge of the case law / legislation to ensure your Will is appropriately drafted, but we have a team of specialists that genuinely care about your wants and needs. They have the time and resource to meet with you and take detailed instructions and produce a bespoke Will that can be relied upon following your death.
On a daily basis, we are approached by people seeking help to review existing wills that have been given little consideration (creating unnecessary legal and taxation complications / financial cost), or wills that have been drafted by unqualified ‘will writers’. Some people have no will at all.
Do consider the following:-
· how much is your estate (everything you own) worth and is it worth the risk not having a will prepared by a professional?
· who do you want to inherit your property?
· what should happen to your estate when you or an intended beneficiary dies?
· how can you protect yourself if circumstances change?
· how can you protect your children or any vulnerable dependents?
Having a will prepared by a member of the Eccles Heddon Team will ensure these key questions are addressed. It will help ensure an array of issues are avoided, helping protect your assets and wealth for children, surviving spouses or partners – all whilst mitigating your exposure to inheritance tax.
Don’t leave a lifetime of earnings and possessions at risk – have a will prepared by a professional at Eccles Heddon. Our team can advise you on:
· Making a Will;
· Estate, wealth and tax planning;
· Trust arrangements created by Wills;
· Capacity issues relating to Wills;
· Providing for vulnerable beneficiaries; and
· Challenges to Will arrangements.
Wills
WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY
Prompt and helpful
I was helped by Annabel Ashford to remake my will after the death of my wife. She was very helpful and efficient, and not only provided the new will but also sorted out the registration of my house. I should certainly recommend Annabel and Eccles Heddon.
Efficient, competitive and transparent
Everything I asked to be done was done. Especially revoking a previous POA. Claire Green was exceptionally proficient, who dealt with everything via meeting on Teams, as I now live outside the area. I recommend them and if I ever need a solicitor in the future will contact them first and foremost.
THE PRIVATE CLIENT TEAM
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- WILLS, TRUSTS & PROBATE -
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Obtaining grants of representation
OUR SERVICES EXPLAINED
Drafting and planning bespoke Wills
Drafting a Will ensures that you leave your assets to the people you choose. There are so many laws to consider that it is vital that you draw on the knowledge of a solicitor or legal executive with the training and skills to highlight any issues and to draft the document in such a way that it is ‘bullet proof.’ Eccles Heddon Will writers include members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Association of Lifetime Lawyers who have the expertise to ensure that your Will is correct and that issues that you may not even have considered are appropriately dealt with. You may want to draft your Will in a way that protects your share of your house should you need care, Eccles Heddon can do that. You may want to protect a vulnerable family member, Eccles Heddon can advise on the best ways of doing this. No-one wants their family to pay extra tax or lose their benefits as a result of inheriting money, let Eccles Heddon advise you on how to manage your Will in the most efficient way.
Dealing with the Probate Process
Being an executor is often much more difficult than people imagine. Not only do you need to obtain the Grant of Probate (or Letters of Administration) and collect in all the assets before distributing them, you are also responsible for ensuring that the estate is correctly dealt with or you could end up personally having to re-pay money to a third party after you have given assets to the beneficiaries. There has been a well-known case recently where an executor who did not take legal advice had to pay a six-figure sum of inheritance tax to HMRC out of their own pocket. The person who has died often has not understood the income tax rules around savings and dividends, it is your responsibility to ensure that HMRC are paid correctly now. With a rapidly decreasing Capital Gains Tax annual exemption, you also need to ensure that the correct Capital Gains Tax is paid when the house is sold, and that if there is a legitimate way of minimising any tax you have done so. Eccles Heddon take that worry from you. We ensure that the estate is dealt with correctly so the process runs smoothly and you do not risk having to pay money out of your own pocket after the estate administration has been finalised.
Obtaining Grants of Representation
Sometimes an estate is so straightforward that the executors can handle it themselves but they often find that the process of calculating the figures for the Grant of Probate are too complex to manage. Eccles Heddon offer a service to do this for you.
Trust Administration/Management
There are so many pitfalls when acting as trustees that, in all but the most simple trusts, instructing solicitors to assist you in managing the trust is vital. Even with simple trusts when something arises, such as a change of trustees, legal advice is needed. Eccles Heddon’s experts in trust administration are there to guide you through the regulations and draft the complex documents.
Trust Registration
Did you know that all trusts (with very limited exceptions) now need to be registered with HMRC even if they do not create any formal income. This is the case even where it is just a matter of holding money on trust for a child until they reach a certain age. We can advise you whether your trust needs to be registered and we register it for you for a fixed fee.
Drafting and planning bespoke wills
Dealing with the probate process
Trust administration/management
Trust registration
Lasting Powers of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney is your chance to choose who should make decisions on your behalf if you should become mentally incapable and also to set out in advance any particular way in which they should (or should not) act. Whilst the Office of the Public Guardian have set up an on-line process, the applications often become difficult due to the very strict rules surrounding this meaning that many people who try to do the documents themselves have unnecessary delay and extra work due to mistakes and not understanding what the Office of the Public Guardian accept. Eccles Heddon are experienced in handling the process and are able to help you navigate it without encountering such problems. Eccles Heddon also consider your circumstances fully and are able to bring things to your attention that you probably wouldn’t have considered as a problem or option when preparing the documents.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney
Registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney
If you are attorney under an existing Enduring Power of Attorney (which is different from a Lasting Power of Attorney) then you are under a duty to register the document with the Court of Protection if the person whose assets you are managing is, or is becoming, mentally incapable of managing their own property and financial affairs. Eccles Heddon can handle the paperwork for you so that it is processed as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Court of Protection Orders
If your loved one has lost mental capacity and there is no Lasting Power of Attorney, someone will need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as deputy for them. Eccles Heddon are there to complete the lengthy forms and process on your behalf. There may be other times where you need to apply to the Court of Protection for a single order, Eccles Heddon will tell you when this is the case and will handle it for you.
Court of Protection Orders
Acting as Deputy
Sometimes a professional is needed to act as a deputy for someone who has lost mental capacity. This is often where there is no family member who can do it, where the family situation means that an independent person is required or where the complexity or value of someone’s estate merits a professional’s involvement at all times. Eccles Heddon includes specialised solicitors who can be a professional deputy. We can also assist lay deputies when they are struggling with their role, sometimes doing the annual accounting form for them for example.
Acting as deputy
Deeds of Variation
Did you know that if you have inherited money recently then you can do a Deed of Variation and, provided certain criteria is met and it is done within two years of death, it will be viewed by HMRC as if you never received the money? Eccles Heddon can advise on and draft Deeds of Variation.
Deeds of variation
USEFUL ARTICLES
LASTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that requires preparing in line with strict guidelines and registering with the Office of Public Guardian. It lets you appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf.
There are a number of reasons why you might need someone to make decisions for you or to act on your behalf:
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This could just be a temporary situation: for example, if you're in hospital and need help with everyday tasks such as paying bills.
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You may need to make longer-term plans if, for example, you have been diagnosed with dementia and you may lose the mental capacity to make your own decisions in the future.
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Stroke / Coma.
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Drug impairment
LPAs are akin to a Safety Net – it is essential to have them in place, and hope that in the fullness of time, they are not required, opposed to finding yourself in a vulnerable position where they are not in place, yet required.
There are 2 types of LPAs. The first covers ‘Health and Welfare’ whilst the second covers ‘Property and Financial Affairs’.
Property and Financial Affairs
In this document, Attorneys are appointed to make decisions regarding your finances. They will be able to look after your finances and even sell your home, if you give them permission to do so. Whilst you still have the ability to participate in those types of decisions, your Attorneys must consult with you to find out your wishes.
If you can’t make your own decisions, then your Attorneys have the right to make decisions for you; but they must always act in your best interests.
Health and Welfare Lasting Powers of Attorney
This document allows your chosen Attorneys to make decisions regarding your health and welfare only, if you have lost the ability to make such decisions yourself.
Common examples of the types of decisions made by Attorneys are where an individual resides, and whether medical treatment is to be given or refused. It is also possible to authorise your Attorneys to consent to, or refuse, life-sustaining treatment on your behalf.
It is really important that you have appropriate LPAs in place – nobody is too young to have one. The team at Eccles Heddon have a great deal of experience in this area. In particular: -
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Our team can advise on what type of LPA you require;
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How the relevant LPA is prepared and what needs to be documented;
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We can prepare these documents on your behalf; and
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Attend to the registration of the same at the Office of Public Guardian.
Give yourself the peace of mind knowing you have received appropriate advice and that all your affairs are in order. Instruct Eccles Heddon to prepare your Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) today.
LPAs
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