Wills, Inheritance Tax, Power of Attorney, Services for the Elderly, Probate Articles
Where There is a Will There is a Way - To Get it Wrong
20th November 2009
You may have seen adverts for ‘legally drafted wills’ for as little as £49. You may even have been accosted in a shopping centre by ‘professional will writers’ offering incredibly attractive deals to sort out your affairs.
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Why We Would Recommend Making a Lasting Power of Attorney
20th August 2009
A power of attorney is a document whereby someone (the Donor) authorises one or more other people (the attorney(s)) to do things on the Donor’s behalf. As a general rule a power of attorney ceases to be valid when and if the Donor loses mental capacity. A Lasting or Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA or LPA) is a power of attorney which remains valid regardless of the mental capacity, or lack or mental capacity of the Donor.
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Tax planning Wills for Couples
20th March 2008
It used to be the case that the conventional Will for a married couple provided that everything passed to the survivor, the problem with this was that in effect the Nil Rate Band (NBR) of the first party to die was thrown away. Since about 1992 the focus of most tax planning in Wills has been to find a way to preserve the NRB of the first party to a marriage so that when the second party dies there would be two NRBs available rather than one. The main vehicle for this sort of tax saving was the Nil Rate Band Discretionary Will Trust (NRBWT) usually coupled with a loan facility for the surviving spouse. At a stroke the TNRB has in effect removed the need for such complicated tax planning.
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Pre Budget Report. How do we rate the changes to IHT
17th October 2007
So what has the Pre Budget Report done for inheritance tax? It has made the nil rate band - that is the part of your estate that can pass free of tax to your children - transferable between husband and wife. Widows and widowers can now claim their spouses’ unused nil rate band as well as their own. This means that married couples and civil partners have now ‘doubled up‘ the amount of assets they can give away free of tax from £300,000 to £600,000, and this will rise to £700,000 by 2010.
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How often should I review my will
15th August 2007
Our general advice is that Wills should be reviewed at least once every 5 years, however this is a generalisation and in practice the regularity of review depends very much upon your individual circumstances. The aim of this article is to try and give some guidelines, both general, and specific to the last few years, as to when you should be looking at your wills.
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Everybody needs a Power of Attorney
25th April 2007
Everybody needs a Power of Attorney! Actually a slight exaggeration but we hope it will make your read this article and think about your position. Most people tend to think of Powers of Attorney as something for the elderly and infirm. While there is some truth in that every adult who owns property or any sort should consider whether or not they need an Attorney. If for any reason you are unavailable or become incapacitated a Power of Attorney is the solution, if your absence is planned arrangements can usually be made but if it is unexpected then the Power of Attorney is a useful insurance that comes into its own.
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Nil Rate Band Discretionary Will Trust and the Case of Phizackerley
25th April 2007
A number of people have expressed concerns to us about the possible adverse impact of the above Case on Nil Rate Band Discretionary Trusts included in their Wills.
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