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.

What is sometime called Second Marriage Syndrome is an inelegant term for a situation where a parent remarries and goes on to own all or most property jointly. This can have serious consequences for the children.

If that parent dies before the new spouse does, with or without a will, jointly owned property stays with the new spouse because s/he owns it already.

It is something that can easily happen and does happen. But it can be avoided.

To most people the idea that the wealth and assets that have been built up over their life ending up in the pocket of a new spouse, and his or her children, is just unacceptable.

One way to avoid this problem is to ensure any new ‘marital property’ is owned as tenants-in-common and e.g. the part owned by the parent is put into a Life Interest Will Trust. This will leave the surviving spouse with the full use of the property, but on his/her death it then passes to the children.

So nobody loses out this way.

If you would like to talk about avoiding this problem or want to make an appointment to arrange a visit please call William Ryan on 01225 582 582 or 07942 95 95 99 or use our contact page and you will be called back.

The UK average annual fee for a single room in a nursing home, it is £35,100 according to the Laing and Buisson (Care of Elderly People) UK Market Survey 2008.

As of April 2009 (which allows for the increased threshold levels) your assets over £22,000 are liable to be ‘used’ to pay Care Home Fees that may accrue. You remain liable for a partial payment until the level of your assets falls below £14,000.

If you plan correctly you can greatly reduce your liability to pay Care Home fees. For this to work you and your spouse or civil partner need to put a suitable will trust in place whilst you both are healthy. This is really something everyone should consider.

If you would like talk to someone or to arrange a no obligation visit please call William Ryan on FREEPHONE 0800 878 6565 or 07942 959599 or use our contact page.

Affordable peace of mind for people from all walks of life and for those not wanting the cost of a high street solicitor.

The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

I have just seen the cheapest version of a DIY Will kit yet. I was posting a letter in the Box Post Office in Corsham (which in Wiltshire and just a few miles from Bath for those who don’t know). I noticed a poster advertising a DIY Will kit for just £9.99. Well that beats the one for £15 in WH Smiths I suppose.

For many people the appeal of this cheap route to making a Will may seem like an excellent idea but if you don’t get it right the results could be disastrous.

Now I am not saying it can’t be done adequately using the DIY route. But on the other hand most Wills are found to be invalid through procedural defects such as problems with the signing procedure or through improper amendments to the Will. This sort of fault would not happen if properly supervised by a professional.

Also, without the proper fact finding and advice that you would receive by using a professional, there is real potential for missing out on important benefits e.g. using the right type of Will Trust to protect your property. In addition there may be ways of saving Care Home fees, Inheritance Tax or even ensuring your children can still inherit if you die and your partner remarries. There are many issues that can be of real importance but do you understand what they are?

And what happens if there is a mistake? Your loved ones will find out after you have died and it would be left to them to ‘pick up the pieces’. There is no Professional Indemnity insurance to fall back on either.

Is making your Will really the sort of thing you want to take a gamble with?

If you would like further advice or to arrange a home visit you can call free on 0800 878 6565 or 07942 959599 or use the contact page.

Affordable peace of mind for people from all walks of life and for those not wanting the cost of a high street solicitor.

The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

The recent sad death of a young mother called Jade Goody from cancer, made plenty of headlines. It has raised many issues including cervical smear testing regimes and the ethics of dying in the public eye.

The fact that Jade knew she would die in a short time made her deal with a number of issues many of us never get around to doing. She knew she had to make a will. She knew she had to make provisions for her children and she wanted to make sure that they would have the maximum benefit from her assets; it is reported she put a £4 million trust fund in place for them.

So she he planned her estate in good time and died knowing she had done her very best in this important respect. Yet another thing for you to think about.

If you would like some advice or want to arrange a home visit please contact Bill Ryan on 0800 878 6565 or on 07942 959599.

The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Bill Ryan of Lawscape is based in Corsham in Wiltshire. Those of you who know the area will appreciate that Corsham is well placed to access Bath which is only about 8 miles away and is only 4 miles from Chippenham.

It is based on an initial friendly and free no obligation consultation in your own home or if you prefer at your workplace. In broad terms Bill is more than happy to see clients within an hour or so travel from Corsham. So, if for example, you live in Swindon, Bristol, Westbury, Trowbridge, Devizes or Cirencester, we would be very pleased to offer you our services.

If you make an appointment you will receive a letter with our terms of service and , a price list so you know in advance the cost of our range of Wills, Trusts and other Legal Services. You will also receive a short ‘to-do’ list asking you to gather certain relevant information and consider some ‘important matters’ to be ready for the appointment.

The information you furnish will allow Bill Ryan to give you proper advice and provide an outline of the possible solutions that meet your requirements. You and only you decide if you want to take up any of these options. There is no selling and absolutely no pressure. That is a promise.

If you would like to arrange a consultation please call Bill Ryan on 01225 582582 or 07942 959599 or use the contact page and I will call you back within one working day.

The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Any parent with a disabled child will be concerned about providing for that child’s special needs after his or her death.

By making a Disabled Discretionary Trust you appoint someone (i.e. one or more trustees) to make financial decisions regarding the inheritance for your disabled child. There must be more than one potential beneficiary or the trust cannot be discretionary in nature. Your wishes are expressed through a ‘letter of wishes’ which gives the trustees guidance, but is not binding. Yet again if the letter of wishes was binding there would be no discretion and therefore no discretionary trust.

Most importantly it is designed to conform with current legislation to ensure it does not affect your disabled child’s entitlement to benefits.

It is of prime importance that the trust is set-up correctly or it may fail and deprive your child of the full benefit of the inheritance you had planned for.

If you would like to arrange a consultation please call Bill Ryan on FREEPHONE 0800 878 6565 or 07942 959599 or use the contact page and I will call you back within one working day.

The home visit Will service is available in Berkshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

New Intestacy Distribution Rules are now in force.
The new statutory limits for Intestacy are:

As of 1 February 2009 there are a new set of figures for distribution of a deceased person’s estate following intestacy.

£250,000 (from £125,000) where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner and children.

£450,000 (from £200,000) where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner and parents or siblings, but no children.

In each case, for estates with a valuation lower than the statutory limit, the spouse or civil partner will inherit the entire estate.

Application of the statutory limits

When the estate exceeds the minimum (i.e. the statutory limits) the rules apply as follows:

For a spouse or civil partner, and children:

The spouse or partner gets the personal chattels, the first £250,000 and a life interest in half of what is left.

The children of the deceased, share between them half what is left straight away, if they are 18 or over; and the other half when the surviving parent dies.

For a spouse or civil partner, and relatives but no children:

The spouse or partner gets the personal chattels, the first £450,000 and half what is left.

The parents of the deceased, or if they have died, the siblings or their descendants, share the other half of what is left.

If there is a spouse or civil partner, but no other relatives:

The surviving spouse or partner gets everything.

If there are children, but no living spouse or civil partner:

The children share everything equally.

If there is no spouse, civil partner or children:

Everything goes to the next available group of relatives.

Finally, if there are no available relatives the estate in its entirety goes to the State.

The Justice Minister, Bridget Prentice, commented that many people wrongly assume that when their partner dies, they will automatically be entitled to everything. Clearly this is not the case and the importance of making a will cannot be over-emphasised. In other words Intestacy can be a problem!