http://yourwillmatters.co.uk Wills and Inheritance issues Wed, 16 May 2012 19:54:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Should you DIY a Life Interest Trust? I write wills and trusts and see peoples DIY will efforts. Sometimes they work out and this is would be the situation is simple and the person writing the will is very careful. Apart from the legal side as someone who is involved with running a handful of [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/a-diy-life-interest-trust-surely-not/2012 Should will writing be regulated? There is an on going debate about whether will writing should be a reserved occupation which can only be carried out by certain specified lawyers e.g. barristers and solicitors. Every now and again there is a big scandal about unregulated will writers scamming the unsuspecting public but the recent secret [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/regulation-of-will-writers/2012 You may have heard of the Court of Protection. This is the place that deals with people who cannot take decisions for themselves. It covers all types of cases including any adults who have lost mental capacity through dementia or injury. These cases would not go before the Court of Protection (COP) if these individuals [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/the-court-of-protection-one-to-avoid/2012 Wills and Probate services: Rip off Britain Today’s BBC programme “Rip Off Britain” (9th December 2011) highlighted problems with using a certain probate company called ITC which charged very high fees to act as executor and to deal with probate. After some complaints they reduced their fees for the particular person featured on the show [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/rip-off-britain-wills-and-probate-services/2011 I looked at this for the first time a few days ago and I thought it was a very good presentation from Sue Medder. I watched all of the series and not surprisingly I found it very interesting. She comments on the reasons why so many people do not make a Will, which she characterises [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/wills-the-cant-take-it-with-you-video/2011 I am going to moan about DIY Wills again. Why should I do this? Well it is simply that a whole new raft of people are looking for a cheap ticket to do their Will and they need to know about the pitfalls. Need to know what? Well that if you get it wrong you [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/diy-wills-need-a-health-warning/2011 I was at a meeting yesterday where one of the people made a statement that caught my attention. He said that people who make Wills live longer. I asked for some more details to back up this assertion. Ah, he said, it was not that making a Will makes you live longer as such but [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/people-who-make-wills-live-longer/2011 Has your Financial Advisor told you to make your Will? If you use an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) you will naturally have to let them know a lot about your financial circumstances, in most situations. They must ahve this information to help build a strong picture about your circumstances to enable them to give give [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/has-your-financial-advisor-told-you-to-do-your-will/2011 DIY Wills meets Freemium –  a new offering? If you have any interest in Wills you probably understand the idea of a DIY Will. You may be aware of the concept of Freemium or you may have used a Freemium system without realising. So what about the two together? Well how about a free Will [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/diy-wills-freemium/2011 DIY Wills I get to think about Do It Yourself Wills (or DIY Wills) quite a lot. Knocking the use of DIY wills is easy and can be justified because, for certain, it is a risky way to ensure your inheritance is goes where you want it to. Why is that? Firstly, many family/property situations [...]]]> http://yourwillmatters.co.uk/diy-wills-how-to-get-them-right/2011