Who would handle your health and wealth matters if you lost the capacity to act for yourself? By registering your wishes now, you can rest assured that trusted people with your best interests at heart, will be able to act for you right away. The alternative to having a robust safety net would oblige your loved ones to seek permission to act from The Court of Protection, which is likely to cause major stress and delay at the wrong time. It is always possible to update such arrangements if you change your mind, so why wait? We can help you make critical decisions from which to prepare suitable documents for you to execute before registering them with the Office of The Public Guardian.

If you acquired your home (and other property) with your spouse or partner, it is likely to have been registered as a joint tenancy. This means that it would pass in full to the survivor on your death, which may result in unnecessary tax liability and expose it to other claimants. There are many reasons for severing a joint tenancy, the most common being to preserve the full value of your home and protect it from third party claims, for the surviving owner and succeeding beneficiaries thereafter. We can talk you through the advantages (and limitations) before preparing a suitable deed for your execution and then update the Land Registry for formal conclusion.

Under UK Law, you can only direct your assets, and ensure your other wishes are carried out after you're gone, by making a legally valid Last Will and Testament in advance, whilst you are both willing and able. It is impossible to do this if you lose capacity in later life. Should you die without making an effective arrangement in advance, the prevailing Intestacy Rules will dictate how your estate is distributed. This may result in tax liabilities, which could leave your loved ones wanting. Avoid such risk by acting now. We can discuss the key points for your assets and wishes, prepare a draft for you to consider, make your required adjustments and oversee legally valid execution.

As well as directing your assets, and ensuring your other wishes are carried out after your death, this Last Will and Testament can make sure that your home is protected for your spouse (for their lifetime use and benefit) should they survive you. When they subsequently die, this arrangement will direct your home to your pre-selected beneficiaries. Such an arrangement is particularly applicable to a mixed family when step-children are the ultimate beneficiaries. We can help you establish a succession strategy for your home, with reference to your other assets and wishes, then prepare a draft for your approval before overseeing execution.

This type of Last Will and Testament is usually for spouses with a large estate that is likely to pay substantial Inheritance Tax (IHT) on 2nd death. It requires a more complex arrangement, comprising intelligent trust planning, to preserve the estate for the surviving spouse against IHT after 1st death. It also protects your beneficiaries, after 2nd death, from potential third party claims (due to unexpected divorce, creditor and means testing claims in the future) as well as recurring estate tax. We can assess the projected value of your assets (including tax treatment) to determine a succession strategy from which to prepare a series of related documents for your approval and precise legal execution.

When someone dies, the personal representative(s) of the deceased, most often the executor(s) named in the Last Will and Testament, must obtain a Grant of Probate from the authorities. This involves identifying, calculating and reporting all assets and liabilities that comprise the estate, as well as paying over any IHT liability before distribution. We can act on behalf of the executor(s), ensure that the application is comprehensive (to minimise delaying queries from the Probate Registry and HMRC), assist with obtaining a HMRC Clearance Certificate before confirming advice as to the timing and method of asset distribution to beneficiaries.

There exists a rarely used facility in UK Law, that can be utilised within 2 years of any person's death, whereby distribution of the deceased's estate (be it in accordance with the Last Will and Testament or the prevailing Intestacy Rules) can be modified to substantially improve the beneficiary outcome and / or tax efficiency. Sadly, the vast majority of practitioners fail to mention this opportuntity when handling a Grant of Probate Application matter for the lay executor(s). We can help you review the potential of such strategy, to ensure that the opportunity is not inadvertently missed, then if applicable, prepare a suitable deed for your execution in good time.