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My name is Bill Ryan. I am a lawyer now working as a Legal Consultant specialising in Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning for Your Will Matters.
I am a member of the Institute of Professional Willwriters, an Affiliate of the Society of Will Writers and a Commissioner for Oaths. You can me on 01225 582582 or 07942 959599. |
This has been a busy period for me as more people have made enquiries than normal. I think it is the New Year resolution ‘thing’. I would agree that the New Year is a good time to write your Will. So is February. Anytime soon is the absolute best time to do it though. So don’t put it off any longer! You may wish to to leave some or all of your estate to your dog (or other pet) when you die. Many people build such strong bonds with their pets that they worry about how their beloved companions will be looked after should they die. The law does not allow you to leave money directly to an animal. However, you can leave money in a trust appointing someone to be the trustee with the trust funds to be used for the care and upkeep of your pet. The question then might be what should happen when your pet dies. Without any further provision it might not go where you want it to so it might be a good idea to make a dog charity the ultimate beneficiary. An alternative might be to leave your estate directly to a dog friendly charity that will look after your pet. However if you have close family there is every chance that your Will will be contested by those family members who thought they might inherit. This is a bold statement to make but there are two good examples I can cite. Picture two elderly parents who own their property as joint tenants. When one dies the survivor will be the sole owner of the property. If the surviving parent goes into care then the value of the property, save the exemption allowance of £14,000, can be taken into account to pay the fees. A second example is when a parent remarries and buys a property jointly with their new spouse. If your parent dies first the property is then solely owned by the surviving spouse (step-parent). So in both cases the fact of joint tenancy brings about a less favourable postion for the potentail family beneficiaries than can be achieved with proper planning. The simple answer is to sever the tenancy to make the parents tenants-in-common. Then make a Will including a life-interest trust which can leave the surving spouse the full use of the property during their lifetime but allows that shsre to go to the benficiaries after death. This is a good result all around and simple enough to arrange. If you would like to find out more, make a Will or if you want to arrange a visit please call Bill Ryan on 01225 582 582 or 07942 95 95 99. Alternatively use the contact page and you will be called back shortly. The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. I was invited to contribute to the Jonathon Vernon-Smith radio show on BBC 3 Counties today. The format is a phone in show with the public sending emails and texts to add to the flow. The topic was “Inheritance, Is It Worth The Hassle?” There were a number of very interesting contributions before I joined in. A central theme was whether being disinherited or given a small inheritance in a Will than was expected, can lead to feelings of rejection as well as simply ‘missing’ the money. There were good examples of family feuds and breakdowns caused by unexpected distributions in a Will. There was one particular contribution citing a parent constantly threatening to disinherit children if they didn’t pay repair bills etc. It was a very interesting programme and one I enjoyed being involved in. It really can be a very difficult area if not dealt with properly. ‘Probate’ is a term used when talking about applying for the right to deal with a deceased person’s affairs. It’s sometimes called ‘administering the estate’. If the person who has died leaves a WillNormally executors named in the Will deal with the person’s affairs after their death. An executor applies for a ‘grant of probate’ from the probate registry. The ‘grant’ is a legal document that confirms that the executor has the authority to deal with the deceased person’s assets etc. Typically it is used to access funds, sort out finances, to collect and to share out the deceased person’s assets in accordance with the terms of the Will. If the person who has died didn’t leave a WillIf there is no Will, a close relative of the deceased can apply to the probate registry to deal with the estate. The application is then for a ‘grant of letters of administration’. If the grant is given, they are known as ‘administrators’ of the estate. Just like the grant of probate, the grant of letters of administration is a legal document which confirms the administrator’s authority to deal with the deceased person’s assets. Is it difficult?The amount of work required to complete Probate depends on the complexity, the types of assets, and legal or tax complications. There is also a heavy legal responsibility placed on an executor to distribute the estate properly. This can be an onerous responsibility. It may be desirable to use a professional to deal with probate if the estate is complex or if there is nobody suitable to carry out the role. Sometimes a professional is employed to avoid making choices between siblings! If you would like to find out more about our Probate service, making a Will, getting a Will review or if you want to arrange a visit please call Bill Ryan on 01225 582 582 or 07942 95 95 99. Alternatively use the contact page and you will be called back shortly. The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. I was watching Heir Hunters again. The programme starts with the powerful statement that 300,000 people a year die in the Britain without a Will. This is a BBC programme about a firm of ‘Heir Hunters’ called Fraser & Fraser. They start by searching the weekly Bona Vacantia list of persons who die intestate and without known kin. The Treasury Solicitor provides the list as it is the body responsible for the administration of these estates. What is astounding is the sheer volume of people who do not make Wills. Programmes like this serve to highlight the issue of intestacy, which judging by the success of Fraser & Fraser is a enduring state of affairs. From time to time there are surprising results. Not just distant unknown relatives inheriting tidy sums. Several times estranged and very unpopular close relatives found new weath dropping in their laps, which they surely never would have benefitted from if there had been a Will in place. It certainly is the case that some people make their Wills driven by a concern of ensuring a particular brother or sister can’t inherit, which might happen if they died intestate. If you would like to find out more about making a Will, or a Will review or if you want to arrange a visit please call Bill Ryan on 01225 582 582 or 07942 95 95 99. Alternatively use the contact page and you will be called back shortly. The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. A Will has a lot in common with life insurance. When you make a Will you know that you will not benefit from it yourself. Most people believe it is the right and proper thing to do because it provides a better outcome for the loved ones ‘left behind’. Yet surprisingly over 60% of adults in the UK die without ever making a Will. For some reason so many people believe it is a sensible and useful thing to do but never actually get around to doing it! But why is that? Is it the cost? Is is the bother? Is it some fear of discussing the end of one’s life? If you engage with the right professional you can have your own Will drawn up easily, conveniently and affordably. Ask yourself this, will you gain peace of mind by gambling on a cheap DIY solution. If you make one mistake the whole thing could be invalid. Will you be able to deal with more complex issues like sheltering your estate from Care Home fees, or ensuring your children will have an inheritance, come what may? Just ask me for a start! Let’s get together and I will help deliver peace of mind to you. If you would like know more about how to make your will or to arrange a free no obligation consultation you can call 01225 582 582 or 07942 95 95 99 or use the contact page and we will call you back. Many British people spend lengthy periods living and working abroad. They form ‘expat’ communities in many parts of the world. One increasingly popular destination is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). So if you are living in Dubai, for example, do you know what happens there if you die intestate? Are you confident that your estate will not be dealt with by Sharia Law? Just as in the UK you are wise to have will in place. In Dubai you may may that not having a will and not planning for the event could have very serious consequences, especially for women. It is not a good idea to have a local will in Dubai, as the Probate court may interpret this as a request to be dealt with by Sharia law. Sharia Law favours disribution of the estate to male children and smaller amounts pass to a female spouse and female children. As always take good advice and make the right will. Especially if you live in places like the UAE. If you have remarried you may think that one way or another your estate (i.e. your property and money) will go to your children. You may be wrong! Look at this example: Alan & Betty Smith have 3 grown up children when they divorce. The money and assets are then split equally so that they each have £300,000. Betty then marries Charles and they buy a house together. Betty puts in £250,000 to match Charles’ contribution. As a married couple they buy in the normal way, as joint tenants. Of her remaining £50,000, Betty put £30,000 into a joint savings account. The remainder is put into sole bank and saving accounts in Betty’s name. With or without a Will the maximum that Betty’s 3 children could inherit is £20,000 because the jointly owned house and savings account (with a combined value of £330,000) is already owned by Charles. That money and that share in the house does not and cannot form part of any inheritance. What can Betty do to ensure that her children can inherit her money and assets? Firstly, sever the joint tenancy to become tenants-in-common of the house. This means that they would own 50% each. But Betty doesn’t want Charles to be forced out of the house! That’s easy, if Betty sets up a Life Interest Trust in her Will it can allow Charles the right to use the house (or it’s value) until he dies and then the half share in the house passes to Betty’s children. What about the joint savings account? If money is put into a sole savings account in Betty’s name that can pass directly to the children or it could be put into the Life Interest Trust. The interest accrued would be paid to Charles during his life. On his death the money would be distributed to the children So by understanding the problem and acting on it a solution can be found quite easily to satisfy all sides. If you would like know more about how to avoid this problem or to arrange a free no obligation consultation you can call us for free on 0800 878 6565 or 07942 959599 or use our contact page and we will call you back within one working day. The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Those prudent folk who have made a Will may think that the matter is ‘done and dusted’ for them. Job done! However, many Wills are declared invalid by the Probate Registry due to defects in the attestation (signing procedure) or because of damage/alerations to the Will. Many Wills are invalidated because they were made before someone got married without mentioning that the Will was made in contemplation of the forthcoming marriage. Many Wills have been badly drafted due to inadequate DIY attempts. Many Wills are simply no longer suitable for the job e.g. after a divorce or other changes in family circumstances. Some Wills simply ignore how to deal with important business interests. Please think of the matters dealt with in a Will as a snapshot of what was appropriate at that time – not for the rest of your life. To ensure that your Will is effective it should be reviewed every 3-5 years, not just left in the drawer until the day you die. You made your Will to get peace of mind but you can’t have peace of mind without knowing it is valid and useful. So, I am offering a free no obligation review of your Will to confirm (1) if it is valid and (2) if it is still fit for purpose. Please contact me for details. 01225 582 582 or 07942 95 95 99 or use our contact page and you will be called back. The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. |
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