Wills & Estate planning

Your Will is very important you and your family, and our professional advice will ensure that your Will complies with all the legal requirements to give you peace of mind and that your wishes will be respected.

Our service ensures that your instructions are clear and will be followed after your death and that you have taken advantage of any tax reliefs available to you.

Why do you need a Will?

  • If your child is under 16, is orphaned, he or she needs to have a legal Guardian. If your child is under the age of 16 he or she must live with the Guardian(s). If your child is over 16 the Guardian(s) is (are) responsible for the child (for example, if he or she has dealings with the police, the police will have to contact the Guardian(s)).
  • Without a Will the law decides who inherits. With a Will you decide. With no Will it will usually take longer and cost more to wind up your estate (Up To 58%).
  • If you do not have a Will, you have no say over what happens to your assets when you die and this can cause difficulties for those you care about most.
  • It is a common belief that, if you are married or in a civil partnership, your spouse or civil partner will automatically inherit everything you own when you die. In fact, the law sets out rules that determine how your assets are to be divided if you should die without leaving a Will.
  • No one wants to leave their partner with a complex legal issue, but if you are an unmarried couple there is no “common law” equivalent to a legal marriage, Writing a will removes doubt surrounding your wishes, and lets you leave suitable provision for your partner, giving them security during what will be a very difficult time.
  • Will Trusts can be used to protect your families assets. See Property Protection Trust Wills (“PPT Wills”).

Our Specialist Consultant will come to you at a time convenient for you and your family

  • Warm and friendly accredited consultants
  • Expert advice tailored to your situation
  • We ensure that your estate finishes up where you want it
  • Hassle free process
  • Quick turnaround if required
  • Affordable fixed price
  • 5-Star Google Review Rating

Our customers have told us that once they had made their Will, they felt a huge sense of relief. They realised that, in doing so, they have legally recorded how they wanted their assets divided after their death, thus providing their family with the security they deserve.  Why Write a Will?

Our trained Consultants can assess your current circumstances and recommend the BEST products that will provide the correct protection for YOU, YOUR FAMILY and YOUR assets.

contact us for more information.

Will Trusts

The terms of a trust may be specific and give the Trustees only restricted powers or they may give the Trustees power to decide who from the list of Beneficiaries gets what Trust Asset and when (these latter types of Trusts are called “Discretionary Trusts”). The Beneficiaries may be one person or many people and some Beneficiaries may be given precedence over others. The Settlor sets the terms when the Trust is set up

The use of Trusts in Wills is an important part of Estate planning. The Testator (the person making the Will) is in effect the Settlor but the Trust Assets are only set aside on their death.

The main types of trusts which can be created by a Will are:

Here the Beneficiaries can be a wide range of people but the Testator wants the Trustees to decide who should benefit and when. There may be certain criteria with which a potential Beneficiary must comply before the Trustees can award him/her any benefit (e.g. coming off drugs).

There are no Inheritance Tax advantages to General Discretionary Will Trusts and a General Discretionary Trust set up on death is treated like any other bequest and may be subject to Inheritance Tax at 40%.

It is usual with General Discretionary Will Trusts for the Testator to write a Memorandum of Wishes to his Trustees outlining how they would like them to act. The Memorandum of wishes is not legally binding but serves as a guide as to how they should act.

General Discretionary Will Trusts and Memoranda of Wishes are used in Sharia Law compliant Wills.

A Testator may want someone or a class of people to benefit from some or all of the Trust Assets whilst they are alive (the “Life Tenant”) but not to eventually be able to pass on these assets in their Will – typically on a second marriage the Testator may want their 2nd spouse to have the benefits of their investments but for these investments to eventually pass to the children from their first marriage (and that the 2nd spouse cannot pass them on to any children from any previous relationship).

Variations to these types of Trusts are to limit the period during which the Life Tenant can benefit from the Trust Assets or to allow the Trustees to give some of the Trust Assets to other Beneficiaries, and, in doing so, potentially reduce the income to the Life Tenant (these later Trusts are called “Defeasible or Revocable Life Interests”).

Defeasible Life Interest Trust Wills are sometimes used in Sharia Law compliant Wills to reduce IHT.

Defeasible Life Interest Trust Wills are useful in planning for long-term care.

It may be that when someone makes their Will they are not sure what their circumstances will be when they die and do not know whether long-term care or Inheritance Tax will be their priority (or even if a chosen Beneficiary will be disabled). The DT covers this situation. One of the Trustees will be the spouse or partner of the Testator. The terms of the Trust give the Trustees 2 years to decide who, from the listed Beneficiaries, should benefit from the deceased’s Estate. This can include setting up further trusts.