Wills

During your initial appointment, the topic of Inheritance Tax may be discussed and your lawyer may provide you with an explanation of how the current Inheritance Tax laws affect your estate. If you would like this information and advice confirmed in writing you can request an Estate Planning Report.

An Estate Planning Report is a bespoke report that is prepared for you and will review your current assets and Inheritance Laws, relief and exemptions and make suggestions on how you can mitigate any exposure that you may have to Inheritance Tax.

If you do not make a Will, ten your estate (all of your assets at death) will be distributed according to the ‘Intestacy Rules’. You should also consider topics such as inheritance tax and family history. Broadly speaking, for all deaths that occurred after 1st October 2014:

• If you leave a spouse and children – £270,000 goes to your spouse (plus the personal possessions) and then half of the remainder. The children would then receive the rest of the estate on trust until they reached 18.
• If you leave a spouse and no children then your spouse will take everything.
• If you leave children and no spouse then your entire estate would go to your children in equal shares.
• If you leave no spouse or children then your estate will be distributed according to the statutory order, starting with parents and then siblings and then down to wider family members.

WILL CASE STUDY ONE

Mrs R died in January and her husband Mr R died in the following April. The firm was assisting the Executors in the administration.

Mr and Mrs R had had their Wills prepared over ten years ago by local solicitors. Two years before Mrs R died, she prepared a homemade Codicil leaving a generous cash gift to her sister. The Codicil had been signed correctly and was a valid document. Unfortunately, the cash gift could not be made following Mrs R death.

The gift that Mrs R left in her Codicil failed due to the way in which Mr and Mrs R held their assets. Had Mrs R sought professional advice simple steps could have been taken to ensure that this gift could have taken place.