WILLS

 

Creating a will lets you decide what happens to your possession, property and your money after your death. If you make a will, you can also make sure you do not pay more Inheritance Tax than you need to.

 

Your will should set out, who will benefit from your will, who should look after any children under 18, who is going to sort out your estate and carry out your wishes after your death (your executor) and what happens if the people you want to benefit die before you.

 

You can receive legal advice from Lawsmith Solicitors should you any complexity or issues are raised. For example:

 

1. You share a property with someone who is not your husband, wife or civil partner;

2. You want to leave money or property to a dependent who cannot care for themselves;

3. You have several family members who may make a claim on your will, for example a second spouse or children from another marriage;

4. Your permanent home is based outside the United Kingdom;

5. You have property overseas; and

6. You have a business.

7. You want to protect your property from future care home fees.

 

To make a will with us you have to be legally valid and meet this criterion:

 

• Be 18 or over

• Make it voluntarily

• Be of sound mind

• Make it in writing

• Sign it in presence of two witnesses who are both over 18 years of age

• Have it signed by your two witnesses, in your presence

 

Both you and your witnesses must sign the same document and must have a clear view of you and the act of signing. Neither of your witnesses need to sign it at the same time as one another, and you cannot leave your witnesses (or their married partners) anything in your will.

 

Should you wish to make any changes to your will, you must follow the same signing and witnessing process.

 

Updating / Making Changes to your Will

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It is recommended that you should review your will every 5 years and after any major changes in your life, such as experiencing separation or divorce, getting married, having a child, moving into a house or if the executor named in the will dies.

 

Please note that you cannot amend your will after it has been signed and witnessed. The only way to change a will is by making an official alteration called a codicil. 

 

Should you wish to do so, please contact Lawsmith Solicitors and we can help with producing a codicil.

 

Making a new will

 

Any major changes should mean a new will be created. Your new must explain that it officially cancels all previous wills and codicils, and you must destroy your old will by destroying it by burning it or tearing it up.

 

PROBATE

 

Probate is a legal right to deal with someone’s estate (property, money and possessions) when they die. It is advisable not to make any financial plans or put property on the market until you have got a probate.

 

How to get a probate:

 

• Probate is needed:

 

Contact the financial organisations the person who died used (may it be their bank and mortgage company) to find out if a probate is required to gain access to their estate.

 

You may not need a probate if the person who died only had savings, owned shares or money with others (as this will be automatically passed to the surviving owners unless there is an agreement otherwise) or owned land or property as ‘joint tenants’ with others because this will automatically pass to the surviving owners.

 

• You are eligible to apply:

 

This depends on whether there is a will.

If there is a will, you can apply for a probate if you are named as an executor in either the will or an update to it (the codicil). You will only inherit the deceased individual’s assets if you are also named as a beneficiary in the will.
 

If there is no will, the closes living relative can apply for probate. This is normally the husband, wife or civil partner, followed by any children 18 or over (including legally adopted children but not stepchildren). If you are the most entitled person, you can either appoint someone else to do it or permanently give up your right to administer the estate.

 

We can assist you in filling in form PA12 to allow up to help you appoint someone to administer the estate on your behalf, or appoint someone using a registered lasting power of attorney (LPA) or signed enduring power of attorney (EPA). Or you can give up your right to administer the estate to fill in form PA16.

 

• Whether there is Inheritance Tax to pay

To do this, you need date of death valuations of the deceased individual’s estate. Even if there is no tax to pay, you will need the value as part of your probate application.

 

Fees for Probate:

 

If the value of the deceased individual’s estate is over £5,000.00, the application fee is £300.00. 

 

If the estate is less than £5,000.00, there is no fee.

 

A LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY (LPA)

 

This is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (who are known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf. When making a LPA, you must be aged 18 or over and have mental capacity (the ability to make your own decisions). 

 

There are two types of LPA:

 

1. Health and Welfare

 

This LPA gives an attorney the power to make decisions about;

 

• Your daily routine

• Medical care

• Moving into a care home

• Life-sustaining treatment

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2. Property and Financial Affairs

 

This LPA gives an attorney the power to make decisions about money and property, for example;

 

• Managing a bank or building society account

• Paying bills

• Collecting benefits or a pension

• Selling your home

 

How to make a lasting power of attorney in three steps:

 

1. Choose your attorney (you can choose on or more) and this can be a relative, a friend, a professional (for example a solicitor) and your spouse / partner. You must appoint someone who has the mental capacity to make their own decision. They do not have to live in the United Kingdom or be a British Citizen.When you choose an attorney, you have to think about how well they organise, whether you can trust them, and how happy they will be to make decisions for you. You cannot however choose someone who is subject to a Debt Relief order or someone who is bankrupt, if you are making a LPA for property and financial affairs.If you choose more than one attorney, it is important that you decide whether they made decisions jointly or severally.

2. Fill in the forms to appoint the individual(s) as an attorney online or physically. The forms will need to be signed by the attorneys, witnesses and a certificate provider. Witnesses and certificate providers must be 18 or over, and attorneys can witness each other sign but they cannot witness you sign or sign as the certificate provider. You cannot be a witness if you are the person appointing an attorney.

3. Register a lasting power of attorney, which you will need to do so with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). Usually, to register a LPA with no mistakes will take up to 22 weeks. However, before you register, you will need to send a form to notify people (LP£) to all the ‘people to notify’ you listed in the LPA and they will have 3 weeks to raise any concerns.

 

It costs £82.00 to register each LPA. Therefore it will cost £164.00 to register both a property and financial affairs LPA and a health and welfare LPA.

 

We have extensive experience in handling all Wills and Probate matters. To discuss with one of our Solicitors, please contact us on 0208 129 5999 or submit our enquiry form given below.

 

Our Professional Costs:

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